Did you have to take a financial literacy class to graduate high school? There’s a good chance you didn’t, since only thirteen states include it in their requirements. In fact, recent surveys show only thirty-five percent of teens know how to manage a credit card, and only twenty percent of teachers feel prepared to teach financial literacy.

Despite these disheartening numbers, volunteers are helping to bridge the gap. Corporate philanthropy is leading the way. For example, PwC has created a program where 35,000 people skilled in finance, accounting, and business will address youth education with a focus on financial literacy. Our corporate partners are helping as well – like Barclays Capital which participated in “Making Cents.” The project focuses on financial literature and how to handle money.

You can help too. On our Understanding Financial Aid Packages project, you’ll guide high school seniors – who may have never had any financial education – to make informed college financial decisions. Between analyzing financial aid packages, understand grants and scholarship aid, and calculating costs associated with loans, you’ll be getting students on the way to financial literacy.

Adults need a boost too. By teaching basic financial literacy to adult immigrants, you can help a family better manage their banking system, budget, and credit line.

Volunteering can create a financially independent and savvy young adult. Sign up today to get youth on the right financial path.

By Susan Torres

To sign up for our projects, you must first attend an orientation. Sign up today to get started!

If you were anything like me growing up, you were an extremely picky eater. For years my diet consisted of grilled cheese and chicken fingers, despite my parents’ best attempts to get me to eat vegetables or try new foods. It’s about twenty years too late to be of any use to my parents, but a new study shows a way to get children more open to trying new foods.

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior last week suggests that involving children in a school gardening program makes them more interested in trying new foods. Presumably, if the child is involved in how their food is grown and can see exactly where it comes from, they’re more invested and willing to eat them. Even better? According to the survey, “educators observed that the children had been introduced to new ingredients and tastes; kids were bringing healthier snacks and bag lunches to school; and parents were reporting that their children had become more adventurous eaters at home.” 

This study is exciting news to anyone who cares about healthy eating, and a great reason to get involved in your local community garden. For many families in New York City, fresh grown fruits and vegetables aren’t easily accessible, making public spaces important in providing access to healthy eating. 

There are a number of ways you can expand the palates of children across the city – whether they’re just picky eaters or if they don’t have access to fresh, healthy foods. Sign up to revitalize gardens around the city, get kids excited about the environment on Team Green, or sign up to be a Site Captain for New York Cares Day Spring, when we’ll be working with many urban farms and community gardens.  

Exposing children to a wide variety of healthy foods early in life is so important in helping them grow into health-conscious adults. Sign up today and do your part.

By Susan Torres

Leading menswear retailer Rothman’s Union Square will donate 10% of proceeds to New York Cares this week as it celebrates the opening of its cool new store location at 18th Street and Park Avenue South. 

Rothman’s President Ken Giddon helped start New York Cares 25 years ago and is still a member of our board. He said he couldn’t think of a better way to give back to the city he calls home. Please stop in, see the new store, and help support our work.

Event: Rothman’s Opening Celebration

Dates: Thursday, March 8th through Sunday, March 11th.

Location: 222 Park Ave South, New York, NY 10003

Hours:  

• Thu: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
• Fri: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
• Sat: 9:30 am – 6:00 pm
• Sun: 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

For more information, click here.

For most people, December is the time to give back, and for the people at New York Pass, there is no better city in the world to give back to than New York City. Throughout the month, whenever someone bought a pass online, $1 was donated to New York Cares. At the end of the month, an amazing $17,025 was collected!

To celebrate this great donation, Brian Scullin from New York Pass and Emily Banks from Nicholas & Lence Communications met with Executive Director Gary Bagley to present him with this ceremonial check. As you can see, everyone was all smiles knowing this money will go a long way in supporting our upcoming projects.

Thank you to everyone who supported us by purchasing a New York Pass in December. New York Pass is the way to go to if you want to see more and spend less. We look forward to working with New York Pass again soon!

Every year, Volunteering in America releases a survey of who’s volunteering and where and why they decide to get involved. Last year, 62.8 million Americans volunteered and devoted an amazing 8.1 billion hours to service. The result? Almost $173 billion worth of work.

The survey is broken down by state, city and demographics. So which states are the most volunteer oriented? The top five are Utah, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. People born between 1965 and 1981 have increased their volunteer hours from the year before and are catching up with Baby Boomers in amount of time served.

As you can see, the East Coast isn’t represented in the top five. And what better state to break into the top five than New York? Thanks to all our volunteers who have supported New York Cares over the years. Keep up the good work, and let’s make sure New Yorkers are present on the list next year! Do your part to put New York City on the volunteering map by signing up for a project today!

Yesterday, longtime New York Cares supporter and volunteer extraordinaire, Tonya Ingram, accepted a $10,000 donation on behalf of New York Cares during the WNBA’s sixth annual Inspiring Women Luncheon. More than 400 people attended this special luncheon held at Gotham Hall in New York City, which celebrates people who have blazed new paths on the court, in the boardroom and in the community. During the event, Katie Couric, the first solo female evening news anchor and author of “The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives,” was honored with the 2011 WNBA Inspiration Award.

Tonya, a dedicated volunteer and member of the New York Cares family for more than 8 years,  gladly accepted the BBVA Leader of Tomorrow Award for New York Cares, which honors an organization that represents the qualities and characteristics of future leaders in their communities, professions and personal lives.  This year’s award recognized New York Cares for our commitment to the community, support of hands-on service and dedication to teamwork. Read the rest of this entry »

Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden surprised and delighted volunteers Saturday when they visited one of our 9/11 volunteer projects.  The Vice President and Dr. Biden greeted and thanked volunteers, then rolled up their sleeves to help.

The Vice President and Dr. Biden joined 100 volunteers at PS140, the Nathan Straus School, on the Lower East Side. The group painted playground murals and line games, and made care packages for troops overseas.

The 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, signed into law last year as part of the Serve America Act, encourages people to support charitable causes, perform good deeds, or engage in other service in observance of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We’ve run projects in partnership with MyGoodDeed, the organization behind making 9/11 a day of service, for the last 6 years.

Also participating were Jordin Sparks, American Idol winner and current star of the Broadway musical In The Heights;  Susan Stern, Chair of the New York State Commission on National & Community Service; and Diahann Billings-Burford, NYC’s Chief Service Officer.

Across town in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 100 volunteers from Fidelity Investments and the local community revitalized MS 354, The School for Integrated Learning.  Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and NYC Chief Service Officer Diahann Billings-Burford thanked volunteers for their generous efforts.

Work included creating active play areas and building outdoor tables and seating space; redesigning the cafeteria with new painting and inspirational murals; creating a welcoming entry way in the auditorium by building and installing paneled canvas murals; and creating a customized school mural based on the quote “We can see far for we are standing on the shoulders of giants.”

The MS 354 Transformation Day was part of Fidelity Investments’ partnership with HandsOn Network to revitalize learning environments and support educational needs of 11 middle schools across the US.

Photos by Gary He and Colleen Farrell.

The devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday has affected an estimated 3 million people that desperately need your help.

Emergency relief organizations are already on site providing water, shelter, medical care, sanitation facilities, and other supplies. Help them aid survivors by making a donation today to one of these organizations or the nonprofit of your choice.

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg named Diahann Billings-Burford as New York City’s Chief Service Officer.

Starting with the new Middle School Mentors program, she will lead NYC Service, the city’s initiative to promote service and make NYC the easiest city in which to volunteer.  Find out more.

We’re just back from taping a segment with Maria Bartiromo for the Wall Street Journal Report.  The story highlights the rise in unemployed people who are volunteering.

See it on WNBC4 on Sunday, May 24th at 11:30am (following Meet The Press) and on CNBC at 7:30pm.

Thanks to volunteers David Halloran, Hema Kailasam, and Gina Agiostratidou for contributing to the piece, and to everyone at PS 124 for allowing us to document our project with them on camera.

David Halloran and Gary Bagley.