The 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service is coming up on June 28-30 in New York City, and we’re planning a week of volunteer opportunities for anyone who wants to revitalize the city.

We’ll be building garden beds, restoring picnic tables and pavilions, planting flowers, weeding, and pruning at six community spaces in Brooklyn and Manhattan on the weekend of June 26 – 27. Sign up now to volunteer, and check out some “before” photos of Euclid Garden, where we’ll be transforming an empty lot into a new garden space.

Volunteers have been working since January to brighten up I.S. 119 in Glendale, Queens, by painting murals centering around diversity, patriotism, and school spirit.

The murals were completed this weekend after several Saturdays of hard work and many pieces of pizza. Principal Fagan thinks the murals are “absolutely beautiful,” and we do too. Thanks to everyone who pitched in! Check out more photos on Facebook.

Volunteer to give New York City a good spring greening and raise critical funds for New York Cares.

Join 5,000 volunteers to revitalize our city’s parks, gardens, playgrounds, community centers, and other public spaces, making them cleaner, greener, and ready for summer.

Hands On New York Day is an incredible day of service and a critical fundraiser for New York Cares. The money you raise will support 11,000 volunteer projects at New York Cares each year. Learn how you can get involved with this serve-a-thon www.handsonnewyorkday.org.

Congratulations and thank you to the thousands of caring New Yorkers who took part in New York Cares Day 2009. In just one day they painted hundreds of classrooms and hallways, organized dozens of libraries, painted hundreds of amazing murals, and much more at 117 public schools city-wide.

Thanks to them, on Monday morning more than 88,000 children will find their schools magically transformed into wonderful, vibrant places to learn and grow. They also raised $235,000 in support of our year-round volunteer programs.

Our ED, Gary Bagley, with New York City’s Chief Service Officer, Diahann Billings-Burford, and the New York Cares Day Civic Corps team at P.S. 319 M

As the day draws to a close, volunteers are finishing up some amazing murals at 117 schools. Send in your pictures from the day to blog@newyorkcares.org or post them to our Facebook page, and check back next week to see more of the projects completed on New York Cares Day 2009.

P.S. 84 Q

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Volunteers are having a great time at Fannie Lou Hamer Middle School in the Bronx. The school’s Site Captain is thrilled with the fabulous work her ten teams of volunteers are doing all over the school. “Wish we were here to see the student’s reactions on Monday!” Takisha says.

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Tomorrow is New York Cares Day! We’ve closed pre-registration, but if you still want to volunteer you can come to our office (214 W. 14th St. between 7th and 8th avenues) on Saturday by 8:30 a.m. to board a bus to a school in need of extra volunteers.

Public schools need you rain or shine. Our fingers are crossed for beautiful weather, but in case it rains, some projects may be modified or moved inside. Check with your Team Leader or Site Captain when you arrive at your school to get the details on the rain plan.

Keep an eye on our blog tomorrow as we post pictures and updates from different schools around the city.

Thanks to 13 employees from Disney and Southwest Airlines as well as 27 New York Cares volunteers, P.S. 178 has some inspiring new murals on the walls of its cafeteria and play room. Even Mickey made an appearance to lend a hand in Disney’s special initiative yesterday in support of volunteerism.

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You don’t have to be an expert to paint a beautiful mural at a playground or put a fresh coat of paint in a classroom on New York Cares Day.

Your Site Captain and Team Leader will be there to give painting pointers on the day, but you too will be a near-expert by the time you’re done watching our new “how-to” video series.

Watch the first video now to learn what NOT to wear on New York Cares Day. Come back for more videos with tips on prepping supplies, painting different surfaces, and cleaning up after a long day of painting.

Check out our photos from a recent revitalization project at the NYCHA South Jamaica Houses in Queens.

Mayor Bloomberg and our ED, Gary Bagley, put on their gardening gloves to work alongside 1,000 youth who beautified NYCHA sites and city parks in every borough. Read the rest of this entry »