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.

Mayor Bloomberg published a little poem today that touched our hearts   (though we couldn’t help thinking it might be even catchier with a line about something that rhymes with ‘bears’).

NYC SERVICE

By Mike Bloomberg

“Volunteer!” says our latest plan

Here’s how all New Yorkers can:

Read to kids

Mentor one

Help some seniors have some fun

Serve some soup

Or plant trees

Spend some time at food pantries

Coach a team

(Always nice)

Give some legal or tax advice

Learn to do CPR

Or…

Join the NYC Civic Corps

Help in any way, kind volunteers

You’ll receive New Yorkers’ cheers

But right now, to get the biggest thanks

Help the pitching on the Mets and Yanks

According to this recent story on CNN (from O, The Oprah Magazine) about what makes people happy and relieves stress, volunteer work is one of the three “most reliable vehicles for uplift.”

Look for a mention of New York Cares and the surge of  new volunteers who’ve joined us.

President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act today at 4pm.

Here’s a link to one of the first stories about this historic day!

We’re just back from Mayor Bloomberg’s rally to announce NYC Service, his landmark initiative in support of the President’s call to service.

At the event, Gary Bagley (our ED) announced New York Cares’ commitment to mobilize 50,000 volunteers over the next year in support of the city (the single biggest pledge of support).  Find out more about our 50,000 For New York City campaign.

Here’s the moment, captured via mobile phone:

We just learned that Inside Edition on Fox 5 New York will run a story on Monday about how people transitioning between jobs are volunteering  in large numbers.

Tune in Monday, April 6th, at 11:30am.  And yes, you guessed it – the segment features New York Cares volunteers.

Reuters did a similar piece recently which is now online.  See it HERE.

This morning, New York Cares volunteer David Halloran was featured on a Fox & Friends panel discussion about volunteering while unemployed. David and other New York Cares volunteers were also featured in a Sunday Daily News article by Jacob Osterhout about this trend.

As these stories show,  volunteering is great way for job seekers looking for a fulfilling way to spend their new free time. But these volunteers are also incredibly important to help our city recover from the recession.

The latter couldn’t be truer in our Tax Preparation program. Last week, we got word that one low-income family walked away with a jaw-dropping $17,000 in  refunds and credits. That money will go a long way in helping that family, and the many others who receive free tax assistance from New York Cares, stay afloat in these turbulent times.

This weekend CNN featured New York Cares in a piece on the recent surge of unemployed people coming to volunteer.

CNN stopped by our office last week to film an orientation and interview our Executive Director, Gary Bagley, about how New York Cares has been stepping up to meet the demand.

In February, twice as many new volunteers attended a New York Cares orientation as did last year, and about a third of them said they had chosen to start volunteering because of a recent job change.

Watch the piece here.

If you’ve started volunteering because you’re not working and are willing to speak to media, our Communications team would love to hear from you at nycares@nycares.org or 212-228-5000.