Volunteer Leader, Andrea Berkman blogs about her first experience leading the Profesional Networking Workshop

I have been volunteering for a relatively short time (a few years, if that) and was introduced to Met Council through New York Cares. Both are extremely dedicated organizations whose primary goal is the betterment of others in the community. I'd met Shifra Elman a couple of months back and was honored when she asked me to lead one of the Professional Networking Workshops – an event I had attended a few times before.

The goal of the Professional Networking Workshop is to teach people how to, well, network. The focus has nothing to do formal interviewing but rather informational interviewing and the soft skills that make people you meet want to help you… "soft" being the operative word.

Fast forward to my workshop, shall we?

The night began like this… I left my meeting in midtown and arrived at Met Council just to find that I'd left both my wallet and my cell phone at my client's office. $60 later and a half hour behind schedule I arrive at Met Council and see Shifra sitting at the head of a table of women. These were not just any group of women; these women, although quite lovely, were the "fire" in that old phrase "I was thrown into the fire.”

The women were first generation Russian immigrants seeking positions in nursing. They were in need of help but were quite resistant to the idea of… how do I say this…? They were resistant to the idea of not kvetching about their predicament and being open to a new way of interacting with people who may be able to give them support. Either directly because they work in the medical field or indirectly because they hit it off with someone who may know of someone who can help.

After two rounds of networking with one round of feedback in between, I was exhausted and thinking that maybe I was in over my head. My confidence in my ability to lead the event and make it worthwhile was in question… or so I thought.

As I mentioned, the group of women during this session were not the easiest to communicate with and earning their trust was difficult. However, at the conclusion of the evening a few of the women said that they really enjoyed the session and found it to be useful! I thought I misheard until Shifra confirmed this for me later.

In conclusion, my first go-round as a Volunteer Leader was amazing. These women were able to teach me how to be more accepting of barriers while I, along with the other amazing volunteers, was able to help these women open up to what may be around them. I honestly walked into the event thinking "I'm in Sales, I can sell these women on how to network and why it's important" but I was completely wrong. So thank you to the ladies, the volunteers, and Met Council for allowing me to lead this workshop, as well as be led.

For Seniors and Volunteers, Met Council’s Lunch Program Provides More Than A Free Meal

For more than a year, Met Council's volunteer-led Senior Lunch Program has been serving up hot meals and good company to low- income seniors living in Manhattan. The program is based at Met Council's Third Avenue residence, which boasts 10 studios, 38 one bedrooms and a live in super in the Kips Bay neighborhood. The lunch program takes place every Sunday and is open to all the residents who live there as well as those who live in any of Met Council's 10 other low- income senior residences in Manhattan.

Since it began, the Senior Lunch Program has been very popular with both volunteers and with the residents, who enjoy not only a nutritious and Kosher hot meal, but more importantly the opportunity to socialize with their neighbors and the volunteers. on any given Sunday, the second floor community room where the lunch is held brings together people from a wide variety of backgrounds- including residents who are immigrants from Eastern Europe, China, and Latin America- as well as volunteer groups that vary in age, ethnicity and gender.

Stefanie Greenberg, Met Council's Volunteer Department Manager, explained that the program fosters an important sense of community among seniors. "This is not a nursing home or an assisted living facility," she explained. "It's simply affordable housing for seniors. For the most part they live independent, but Met Council wants to create a nice environment for them [to live in]...The lunch program gives the seniors an opportunity to come together with their neighbors once a week and catch up over a nice meal. If a regular [attendee] misses a meal or hasn't been seen in a day or two, their friends will know to look in on them."

It also provides an ongoing opportunity for volunteers looking for meaningful service opportunities. "It's a very concrete project with clear tasks," said Greenberg. "Greeting the seniors as they arrive, preparing and serving the food, and interacting with the seniors- there is something for everyone to do and at the end of the day everyone feels like they have accomplished something worthwhile. "

If you would like to be a part of this great program please contact the volunteer department at volunteer@metcouncil.org

Remembering 9/11

Since 2002, families of loved ones who perished in the terrorist attacks have been engaging in acts of service to pay tribute to those who rose to service in response to the tragedies of 9/11. In an effort to build support for this idea, 9/11 has been designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance and eventually established into law.

To honor the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is challenging nonprofit organizations to act in accordance with the law. In the spirit of unity, compassion, and remembrance, organizations are challenged to bring Americans together to engage in service projects that are linked to the tragedy that occurred on 9/11.

Met Council will be participating in the National Day of Service and Remembrance with emergency preparedness workshops across the city. For more information, please contact volunteer@metcouncil.org. We highly encourage you to get involved for this special day.

Volunteer with Kids

I’m sure you’ve noticed it. It’s been evident in the blog posts, email blasts, and websites. Met Council’s volunteer opportunities are EXPANDING significantly thanks to people like you who want to take action against poverty in New York City.

Today I want to talk about one of the many ways we’ve increased programming. As of this year, Met Council now offers two exciting ways to make a difference in the lives of young at-risk children in New York City. We now offer a mentorship program for formerly homeless children as well as an after school program for children that have been victims of domestic violence.

There are few experiences as meaningful as making an impact on a child’s life. Sign up for these opportunities now if you want to make a different. Please email volunteer@metcouncil.org or call 212-453-9675.

Our Volunteers Have Talent!

It's always wonderful when a volunteer comes to Met Council to help! But it's even better when they have a hidden talent! That is just the case with one of our volunteers named Maria.

Maria is currently a senior fitness volunteer at two different Met Council senior homes in Brooklyn. She gives our low-income seniors the care and attention they deserve. At one of our sites she leads a fitness class where seniors can work on their strength and balance with the support of a chair. And very excitingly, at our other site, she leads a Wii Fitness class in which our seniors play and compete in Wii games, and sometimes unknowingly, work on their balance and fitness!

Well, a few times, I've caught Maria playing the piano in the community room before our fitness class started. It turns out that she and her husband, Timothy, actually play the piano and sing together. They sing show tunes, and songs from musical films. And when I asked her if she'd be interested in having a music recital at one of our sites she immediately said yes!

This past Sunday, the residents of one of our Brooklyn sites and I had the chance to hear how talented Maria and Timothy were! They sang songs from The Sound of Music, Evita, and even Phantom of the Opera! It was lovely. If you volunteer for Met Council and have any secret talents: don't keep them a secret! We'd love to have you share them!

Volunteer Department is Going Green

Besides our regular programming Met Council's volunteers also take on special initiatives. Our big one right now is to create opportunities for volunteers to Green Met Council.

We have started with some easy stuff. Volunteers have gone around to our low income seniors and given out energy efficient bulbs. This is not only good for the environment, but also saves low income seniors money. Not bad for a few hours of volunteer work. A big thanks to Home Depot for providing us with a grant to make this happen.

Volunteers have also helped to create gardens for seniors. One of the gardens even has an eggplant growing in it! The next step after creating the gardens is to work with our seniors to make windowsill herb gardens. We will be making these out of soda bottles and planting herbs that our seniors will then use to cook with. This is in thanks to a UJA Social Action Month Grant and a partnership with Hazon. We are still looking for volunteers for this project, if you are interested please contact volunteer@metcouncil.org.

In addition to helping our clients become green we are also making our selves greener. We have bought an Ipad to help cut our paper use. We will soon begin to have our sign in sheets on the Ipad, additionally all forms needing to be signed will be on the Ipad. This will eliminate a tremendous amount of paper use. We are also looking into buying real dishes for a few of our senior lunch programs. This will help eliminate a lot of waste.

As this initiative grows we hope to take on bigger projects like harvesting rain water and composting. Also doing tenant education and helping to create green habits.

This effort is on going and we can always use the help of our volunteers. We can save our planet one small step at a time.

If you want to make your life greener, here are some easy tips:

1. Plug your electronics into a power strip and turn the power strip off when you are not home. Even though the power of your electronic is off, it is still drawing power. If you turn off the power strip it cuts all electricity which in turn cuts your electricity bill.

2. Wash your clothing in cold water. They will still be clean and save electricity.

3. Make sure you properly section out your recycling. Recycling saves natural resources.

One last thank you to The Jewish Greening Fellowship for not only providing funds, but for providing the training, tools and resources to allow us to properly do our part and reduce Met Council's carbon footprint.

Recognizing Nelson Mandela's Birthday

In honor of Nelson Mandela’s birthday, which the UN General Assembly declared as Nelson Mandela International Day, everyone is encouraged to carry out 67 minutes of volunteer work. Why 67, you ask? This was the total number of years that Mr. Mandela committed to serving the greater good of the world as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa. Although 67 minutes does not do justice to an outstanding 67 years, it still makes all the difference.

Some people may find that 67 minutes of direct volunteer work is hard to come by, due to the demands of their busy schedules. This should not excuse them from devoting an hour and 7 minutes of their time to charity work, especially now that organizations offer the opportunity to volunteer from the comfort of their own homes! For example, one can help an organization design a flyer, edit a blog post, provide business or legal expertise or even make a friendly phone call to a lonely senior citizen, all of which can help change our world for the better.

Given today’s economic climate and cutting of human services, everyone should feel a sense of obligation to participate in some form of volunteerism. Whether it’s online or in person, 67 minutes or 67 years, we encourage you to volunteer!