When I was a kid, I remember going to the local library and marveling at the mountains of books. I always loved reading, and the library was always a place I felt at home. This was a feeling I wanted to pass down to my daughter, Molly, and have tried to be consistent about over the last (almost) 3 years. 

There was no greater joy for me than participating with Molly on Love A Library Day last September. Not just Molly, but for so many other children, it was a day to celebrate what the library had to offer and see them discover the joys their local library can bring. For me, it was a homecoming. The library where I served as Team Leader was the same one I went to as a kid, after school, looking for one of my favorite books. The posters on the wall may have changed, the books on the shelves may be different, but for me, it was like returning home, and showing my daughter where I grew up. 

The activity for the day included reading books with the volunteers, then making books of our own. Some children were so excited, declaring that they were authors. Some, like Molly, latched on to a book and clung to it the entire day. Molly proudly told anyone who asked that “this one was her favorite”. It was a wonderful moment, because you could easily see the different effects the library had on the different age groups. And of course, the highest praise came at the end, when all the children (even Molly) asked if we could do something like this every week.

This year, I’ll be bringing Molly to Love A Library Day again, and we both are excited to participate in the day. The difference the volunteers make, whether they are shelving books, reading to children, or walking around the neighborhood encouraging the community to take advantage of their local library, is so important and appreciated by families like mine. When I think back to the days when I went to the library looking for another Choose Your Own Adventure book, I realize that I’ve pretty much lived one. I’m just glad each path has kept me connected my local library, and given me ways to give back to the place I love.  

By Jaime Denniston-Merced

You can participate in Love a Library this June. Find out how to give back today.

A recent article highlights a school in Roxbury, Massachusetts that fired their security guards and hired art teachers after years of failing grades and violence. The result? One of the fastest student improvement rates statewide, more focused students, and improved test scores. This great story highlights the importance of art programming, and we found a great success story of our own from a volunteer on an Art Explorers project: 

Having team led the Art Explorers program at Washington Heights Academy earlier this year, I can attest to the positive effect the program has on the students who participate. The program at Washington Heights Academy took place on Saturday mornings, after the 3rd through 5th grade students attended a school-sponsored test prep session.

The students were eager to participate in a creative activity after a morning of math problems, and they were excited to show off their talent and ideas to the volunteers. Art Explorers enabled the students to hone more than just their art skills. Students had to share supplies, help their classmates in learning a new technique, and follow directions when cleaning up at the end of the day – all crucial life skills on which children of this age group are still working. Perhaps most exciting was the confidence the students developed after just a few short weeks. There was one student who was particularly shy. During our first session, she sat off to the side and was uncomfortable participating. With the encouragement of a volunteer, however, the student was soon making her own art projects and, within a matter of weeks, was working with the other students and speaking excitedly with the volunteers about her art. Other students also developed a higher level of confidence through Art Explorers: Students who were normally reserved were excited to share their creativity with their peers and get to know the volunteers they were working with each week.

A project in which the students were particularly engaged was a card-making craft. A volunteer with ties to a nonprofit supporting orphans in Nigeria asked the students to make cards that would be added to care packages destined for Africa. The students eagerly looked at pictures of the children who would be receiving their cards and were very excited that their drawings and messages were going to children half way around the world. The students had also just studied Nigeria in school, so they enthusiastically shared what they had learned about the country with the volunteers. I believe this card-making activity is a great example of the multitude of ways in which Art Explorers can benefit children: The students were able to use their creativity, make real-world connections to a subject they had previously studied, and learn the importance of giving back, all while having fun!

Art Explorers is a great outlet for kids’ creativity and ingenuity, but, clearly, it’s much more than that too.

By Kelly Beliveau

Mother’s Day is Sunday, so to celebrate moms all over New York, we’d like to spread the word about our Mom’s Club project. The club is a weekly, on-going support group for women living with their children in homeless shelters in New York City. At the moment, there are two such groups operating, with plans to expand the program to other shelters around the city. Read on for more info about the group:

The mission of Mom’s Club is to provide a safe and confidential setting in which participants are able to share and discover commonalities in their experiences and challenges; receive mutual support and respect from one another; develop parenting skills, including constructive approaches to discipline; and lessen feelings of isolation, shame, and inadequacy. In addition, participants share ideas, knowledge, and perspectives. They share information about resources relevant to obtaining housing, employment, day care for their children, medical services, education and job training, and other community resources specific to their needs, with a view towards taking the next steps toward independent living and self-sufficiency.

Each group is led by a New York Cares volunteer with experience in group facilitation and some experience in one of the mental health disciplines. In addition, where no day care facilities are available on the premises, New York Cares provides volunteers to care for the pre-school age children of the participants, in a separate space provided for that purpose. Read the rest of this entry »

We love when our work comes full circle. The following story was submitted by a woman who benefitted from our programming as a child, and is now getting ready to attend orientation and help children in the same position she was. Read on for her inspiring story:

My name is Michelle and I am excited to attend orientation and volunteer with New York Cares. The reason the organization is so special to me is the fact that as a kid I was in the same situation as the children I look forward to working with now.

When I was 10 years old, my family fell on tough times and we were forced to move into a homeless shelter. While living there for over a year, I will never forget the impact New York Cares had on my life.

Once a month, volunteers would visit us and take us on trips to places I would never have experienced had it not been for the organization – like apple picking, museums, and more. In addition to the wonderful trips, I built a bond with one volunteer in particular. She was always paired up with me for trips, and would already know my favorite foods for our packed lunches. She even took me to her job for “bring your daughter to work” day. Being introduced to such wonderful people definitely made an impact in my life, which is why I’m so excited to be able to do the same.

I think my story will be inspirational to the children I plan on volunteering with, and I look forward to being able to work with an organization that played such an inspirational role in my life. Thank you so much for allowing me to become a part of the organization and I look forward to signing up for my first project.

By Michelle Muharram

My birthday was quickly approaching, and after sixteen years of receiving presents, I figured it was time to give a little. While other soon-to-be-sixteens were picking out dresses and dance music, I was looking at volunteer opportunities. With the help of my sister, I found New York Cares and was inspired by the work that they do. My family and I decided, without any hesitation, to take part in New York Cares Day.

The park in which we worked was William A. Harris Garden on 153rd and St. Nicholas. The garden needed a lot of tender loving care, but with teamwork, the garden was transformed from a weedy work in progress to a picturesque paradise.

The best part of the day was meeting the garden’s owner, Lori. Her story was heartwarming. Her father had owned the land and, after retiring, had started a garden with the help of some neighborhood children. He tended to it for years. When he got older and had trouble keeping up, he bestowed the garden upon his daughters, who care for it to this day. Seeing how grateful Lori was made the hard work well worth it. She told us that a group of New York Cares volunteers visits William Harris Garden throughout the summer, and I only hope I get the chance to go back.

Thanks, New York Cares, for a very sweet sixteen!

By Kelsi Sprague

Jon Verpent wants to make a difference. So for his 29th birthday he’s completing 30 good deeds before his 30th birthday. He’s done a great job of documenting his progress, and the following is his mid-year review, which has been reposted below from his blog. Read on to find out how the year’s going so far, and make sure you check out his blog, Facebook, and Twitter page.

In August of last year, I made a decision to try to make a difference in the world by completing 30 deeds before turning 30 in August of 2013. When I started the journey, I was unsure what to expect. After completing half the project, it has exceeded all my expectations. I have completed a wide variety of deeds including: providing meals for the homeless, working with children, teaching computer basics, helping families in need during the holidays, helping fight cancer, and more. I have met a number of great people and learned so much. I am beyond excited to complete the next 15 deeds in the coming months.

What has been surprising to me is how little time giving back takes out of my schedule. I still have time to complete everything I need/want to in my personal life, while setting aside time to volunteer. Most people use the excuse that they do not have the time or resources to volunteer. To be honest, I don’t buy it. It takes very little time and money to truly make a difference in your community. I challenge you to find a local organization and volunteer!

Unsure where to look or how to get involved? Check out Volunteer Match, Jersey Cares, or my personal favorite, New York Cares. New York Cares partners with a variety of organizations in the New York area to match volunteers with projects. Most projects do not have a commitment, so you can bounce around from project to project to find your niche. The website is extremely intuitive which makes it easy to find and sign up for projects. No more excuses of why you can’t volunteer!

I am challenging you to challenge yourself to make a difference in the world. I promise you will enjoy it and learn more than you could ever imagine! Good luck and keep me posted on your progress!

Make sure to follow 30deeds on Twitter @30deeds and “Like” it on Facebook.

By Jon Verpent

My volunteer journey with New York Cares is quite unique some would say.

I am from Melbourne, Australia and spend my days teaching beautiful kindergarden students. I love my job and wake up every morning feeling blessed to be part of such an amazing industry – education.

So how did I wind up volunteering in New York?

It all started when I visited New York in September 2012 with my husband. We were having a beautiful day at the Central Park Zoo, when I spotted a teacher with her students taking part in a field trip to the zoo. I could see that the children were happy and excited to be out and about.

Seeing this made me miss my students back home and sparked my interest in the U.S. education system. I wondered how similar or how different our schools were? Read the rest of this entry »

People start volunteering for many different reasons. Some start as a requirement, but end up continuing when they see how rewarding it is. That’s what happened to college student Christine Gomolka. A college requirement led to a passion for helping others. Check out her story:

Just like many universities, Pace is a school that incorporates community service into their curriculum. The community service requirement at my school encouraged me to actively seek volunteer opportunities that matched my interests and area of study. As a Women’s Studies major, my volunteer assignments tend to be for nonprofits serving women and children. My friends majoring in art often find themselves at museums and galleries.

By requiring community service, the school has generated conversation and awareness around volunteerism, which is how I learned about New York Cares.  Because of the extraordinary amount of variety and flexibility offered by New York Cares, it has become a go-to for my classmates searching for interesting volunteer opportunities that match their passions.  When I write about my volunteer experiences at New York Cares on my social media outlets, my friends often reach out to me asking how they can get involved, since they have that class requirement to fill. Through this, a community of volunteers is organized, and it truly is a beautiful thing!

With graduation nearing, volunteering is at the forefront of my priorities due to the plethora of benefits it offers me at this point in my life. Volunteering has given me valuable experience in the areas I’m interested working in after graduation. Volunteering for the Art Explorers in the Lower East side was an excellent opportunity for me to showcase my creativity while working with children in underserved communities. As someone who is passionate about education reform and youth advancement, being placed directly in the public school system was the exposure I needed for a background in working with urban youth.

Volunteering also builds valuable job skills that are important to employers. Through volunteering at the Fresh Air Fund, I was able to get a feel for the office environment of a prominent nonprofit, and use my communications skills to assist the needs of the organization.

The benefits of volunteering as a college student are abundant and should be taken advantage of. The college years involve a lot of self-discovery. While it’s okay to be unsure of exactly what we want to do with our lives, now is the time to recognize our strengths and interests and think about how they can potentially translate into jobs. Before graduation is the perfect time to give back to the community and explore our passions.

By Christine Gomolka

Attend an orientation and sign up for a project today.

You’ve heard about our muck out and mold removal projects. But there are many more projects that are helping in the longterm Sandy recovery. Like our Rockaway Readers Club, which works with students displaced by Sandy to increase their reading comprehension skills. The project meets every Saturday, and the Team Leader, Selma Erey, wrote the following post about the most recent session:

Last Saturday, our Rockaway Readers Club members read about Palm Sunday, Passover, and the Persian New Year, Nowruz, which all take place in late March. New York Cares volunteers Ersi, Tomoyo, Liz, and Stella, worked with students teaching them new words. The group also wrote about and discussed their favorite holidays and how they celebrate them.

Our volunteers got the members so deeply engaged in what they were doing that they did not want to leave at 3:30 p.m.! We promised them we will be doing it again next Saturday.

Most of these kids were greatly affected by Hurricane Sandy. You’re help would really be appreciated. Sign up for a Rockaway Readers Club project today.

By Selma Erey

The John Tyler School PS 45, in Staten Island, is a wonderful school that offers it’s students a tremendous amount of enrichment programs that makes it unique on Staten Island. It is a very diverse school educating more than 950 students. When I offered to help at the school, and they came back to me with a Snacktivities program, I was overjoyed. I was also a bit nervous. How would I do this myself if no one else volunteered? Or even worse, what if no students signed up? Well was I in for a surprise. An overwhelming number of volunteers wanted to help who we’re just as excited as I was – it was unbelievable.

Our first day of the project arrived, and we were so nervous – would the students enjoy it? Would they want to come back? Fortunately, it was a hit. The students were preparing healthy Valentine’s Day snacks and couldn’t wait to eat them. The students learned about moderation, measurements, and had so much fun.  

The following day, some students saw me at school and ran up to me and told me that they shared their leftovers with their family, and they even made some more from scratch for their brothers and sisters. They said that they could not wait until next month. It really warmed my heart.  

I want to thank New York Cares for giving me the opportunity to provide this fantastic program for PS 45. I’d also like to thank my volunteers – without your help, love, and support this project could not happen.

By
Teresa Taggart

Sign up for a Snacktivities project today.