Thank you.

For selflessly giving your spare hours, hard-earned dollars, warm coats, holiday gifts, talents, love, and helping hands. Thank you for your tireless dedication to keeping our neighbors from slipping through the cracks and making the greatest city in the world even greater.

Thank you to our 48,000 volunteers, 1,000 nonprofit partners, and countless supporters. You are truly making a difference.

Have a happy Thanksgiving.

Watch NY1 News this morning between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. to see our volunteers live at St. Aloysius in Harlem. We’ll be reading Winter Wishes letters and wrapping presents to make the holidays warmer for children and families in need.

Four hundred students at St. Aloysius submitted letters to be answered by our volunteers this year. We hope the broadcast will inspire you to make their dreams come true — sign up to be a Winter Wish Maker today.

New York Cares teamed up with Jersey Cares and the NBA last Wednesday to give 25 children living in a Bronx homeless shelter a holiday treat. The children shot some hoops with NBA stars, Felipe Lopez and Allan Houston, at the NBA Store in Midtown and were treated to new coats and a shopping spree at the store.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the kids. One child said to us on his way out, “Thank you so much, this was the best night of my life.”

Allan Houston poses with staff from Jersey Cares, New York Cares, and the iconic Shivering Statue of Liberty

We have less than a month to go until New York Cares Day, but we’re 2,000 volunteers short of the 8,000 we need to complete all the tasks we’ve committed to do at 120 public schools. Help us keep our promise to the thousands of children who deserve bright, clean, and organized learning environments —  join or create a team for New York Cares Day today.

New York Cares Day is Saturday, October 17. We’ve extended the team registration deadline to September 30, so there’s plenty of time to get started. Creating a team takes just minutes, and your teammates have until October 9 to sign up. Already have a commitment on October 17? Become a Virtual Volunteer and help us raise the funds it takes to create more volunteer projects.

Click here to learn more about New York Cares Day.

A huge thank you to the Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble, all the sponsors, and everyone who came out to our first ever B&N book fair on July 30. The event brought in more than $2,500 worth of books and games for our education programs.

These sponsors are truly New Yorkers who care:

Barnes & Noble

Christine Paul Events

Yaron Elyashiv

Aamchi Pao

Collective E

Clean Plates Book

Treats Truck

Learn more about hosting an event, sale, or promotion to support New York Cares. Contact Ryan Walls at Ryan.Walls@newyorkcares.org today.

Charity Navigator’s 2009 ratings are in, and New York Cares received the highest four-star rating for organizational efficiency. Charity Navigator is the industry’s leading independent charity evaluator, and this rating is just another way to say we’re a rock-solid investment for your donation dollars.

We’re moving…but only virtually. Update your bookmarks — our Web site will be www.newyorkcares.org as of July 1.

New York Cares won the top award for Overall Excellence in Management at the 2009 New York Times Company Nonprofit Excellence Awards!

We’re incredibly gratified to earn this prestigious award, and are proud to be in the company of the other finalist nonprofits honored yesterday. Read more in the NY Sun and New York Nonprofit Press.

Thanks to our volunteers, donors, Board, staff, and agencies we work with – your support and hard work make New York Cares what it is, and we share this award with you!

Executive Director Gary Bagley (center) and Board President Gail Harris (right) on stage with Jack Rosenthal of the New York Times Foundation

New York Cares is applying to be a host site for NYC Civic Corps members.

The City of New York will dispatch corps members in small teams to local public and nonprofit organizations to help build sustainable impact volunteer programs – something that no city has ever done before!

If you are interesting in joining the corps, visit www.nycservice.org. Applications are due by May 15.

You never know where a New York Cares volunteer will turn up.

Longtime Team Leader Melvin Francisquini left us last fall when he moved to another city.  Yesterday we spotted his name in a story on CNN, and discovered he’s taking a year off traveling around the world volunteering.   He’s currently in Mexico City, and is keeping a video blog of his travels.

Congratulations Melvin – we’ll be following your global adventures in doing good!