Volunteers are out in force around the city helping New Yorkers affected by Sandy.  Here are a few examples of the important role they’re playing:

• * Distributing Supplies – Over 500 volunteers took buses out to supply distribution centers in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, providing urgently needed items to people in the hardest hit areas.
• * Canvassing & Assessing Needs – Volunteers canvassed apartment buildings in the Rockaways, Brighton Beach and the Lower East Side (LES). In some cases, our volunteers were the first responders to reach them.  Bilingual volunteers played an especially critical role in Brighton Beach (Russian) and the LES (Mandarin & Spanish).
• * Delivering Supplies – Volunteers are going door to door delivering supplies in the hard hit Oakwood Section of Staten Island.
• * Restoring Vital Services – Volunteers cleaned a Chelsea soup kitchen so it can reopen and resume serving 900 meals a day.
• * Number of Sandy Response Projects to Date: 87
• * Number of Volunteers Registered to Help: 7,400

These are just a few examples – there’s more than we can post here.  Thanks to all our volunteers, partners, corporate supporters and the many others who are eager to help.  We’re posting new projects and orientations as quickly as we can.  Check back HERE often.

Also, the Coat Drive is coming early – look for news on that shortly.

We hope everyone made it through Hurricane Irene safe and sound. We want to thank everyone who reached out to New York Cares to see how they could help out during and after the storm. The outpour of immediate support was amazing, with volunteers pitching in as early as Saturday afternoon to help out at shelters throughout the city. Thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers for your much-needed help and assistance.

We’re currently assessing the needs throughout the city’s five boroughs in response to Hurricane Irene. We’re working with our Community Partners and city officials to locate where help is needed most. If you would like to be contacted about possible Hurricane Irene-related projects, click here, and let us know.

Due to Hurricane Irene, all projects scheduled from noon today through Sunday, August 28^th are canceled.

We’re already getting requests for volunteer support related to any and all effects of the storm. Our ‘referral opportunities’ page contains links to projects that need volunteers. Please note: these projects are not run by New York Cares.

We’ll update the referrals page throughout the weekend as needed.

All projects taking place after 12pm on Saturday, August 27th are canceled in anticipation of Hurricane Irene. The MTA is shutting down the subway system, making transportation difficult. Please check  mta.info for more information about public transport.

Check back throughout the weekend to see the status of Monday projects. Contact your Team Leader to stay up to date on your specific projects and see nyc.gov for storm update. Stay safe.