Since many people couldn’t donate coats in late December due the blizzard, we’ve extended coat collections at several locations.  If you have a coat to give, please visit:

• * New York Penn Station, LIRR and Amtrak concourses: Weekdays 7:30-9:30am
• * Port Authority Bus Terminal: Weekdays 7:30-9:30am
• * New York Cares Coat Drive Warehouse, 250 Hudson Street: Weekdays 9:30am-5:00pm
• * Manhattan Mini Storage locations

It’s not too late – help us collect as many coats as possible for New Yorkers who need them during this cold and snowy winter.

Through its Bullseye Gives campaign, Target will donate $3 million to ten charities based on your votes. Our parent organization, Hands On Network, is competing and currently has 4% of the vote.

New York Cares will share HandsOn Network’s winnings, so we need as many New Yorkers as possible to vote and help us raise money. Help us reach 10% of the vote by May 25 by voting daily.

The more you vote, the more we win!

Searching for the perfect gift for your favorite caring New Yorker? Give something that makes a difference.

New York Cares has some great spring gift ideas at Changing the Present that will help spruce up New York City’s public parks and gardens and keep them well maintained throughout the year.

You can make a donation in a friend’s name, or create your own unique registry with gifts for others to donate in your name. It’s a great way to give and receive.

Check out the New York Cares Facebook gifts as well. For just $1 you can give a virtual gift to a friend and help continue to improve our city.

Our ED Gary Bagley did a great interview and call-in show with Brian Lehrer  of WNYC radio on MLK day (Jan 19th).

We’ve been remiss in posting a link, so we hereby present it for those who may have missed it.

Listen to the interview on WNYC.

Grand Street Settlement just published a story about how it distributed 500 coats from the Coat Drive to Lower East Side children and teens who desperately need them.

This is why it’s so important.

Thanks again to everyone who gave this year.

101.9 RXP “The New York Rock Experience” is hosting a special challenge for its listeners and New York Cares could win $10,000 with just a few clicks of your mouse. Go to www.1019RXP.com/charityvote to search for New York Cares and click “vote.”  If we receive the most votes, we’ll win $10,000 from 101.9 RXP. You can vote once a day, every day, from December 15th through January 30th, 2009.

You don’t have to pay a dime to participate, but the $10,000 you’ll help us win will be quadrupled in service to the community through the power of our volunteers. Vote today and tell your friends to do the same!

Tomorrow morning, New York Cares will be featured on New York 1‘s ‘Giving Thanks Week’. Look for live interviews from our partner Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC) around 7:00am and 8:00am.

From 9:15-9:30am, our Executive Director Gary Bagley will ring NASDAQ’s Opening Bell to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the New York Cares Coat Drive (which starts December 1st).  Presenting Sponsor Health Plus will join us for this special honor.  View it live tomorrow HERE.

As the deadline for our Winter Wishes program approaches, we still have 12,000 letters from kids, teens and families to give out.  Each letter is a request for a holiday gift from someone who may not get anything else special this holiday season.  Can you help?

If you, your family, company, church or synagogue, or community group would like to give gifts to families in need this season, please sign up today for Winter Wishes.

In case you missed the news on our home page today, New York Cares’ Board of Directors just announced the appointment of Gary Bagley as our new Executive Director.  If you’re a regular volunteer (or fan of our blog), you may already know Gary – he’s been with New York Cares for the last 4.5 years, as Sr. Director of Programs and more recently as Associate Executive Director.

Board President Gail Harris said, “The entire Board is excited about having Gary as our new Executive Director… Gary is a visionary in the field and we know that New York Cares will thrive under his leadership.”

Read a Q&A with Gary and Gail HERE.

See the official press release.

Until November 9, you can donate a gently-used coat at any John Varvatos store in New York, and receive $200 toward the purchase of a new overcoat at the shop.

If you’re ready to clear out your closet before the Coat Drive officially starts in December, John Varvatos just gave you an extra reason to do it now. A super cool deal that will warm your heart, and help keep our community warmer this winter!

Big thanks to John Varvatos!

To donate a coat in December, see our list of public donation sites citywide. If you want to collect coats at your school, office or other location, you can host your own coat drive, too.