On Monday, December 10th, 600 guests joined us to celebrate New York Cares’ 25th Anniversary at our annual Winter Benefit fundraiser. The festivities, held at Cipriani’s 42nd Street, were hosted by The Honorable Harold Ford, Jr. and chaired by New York Cares Board Member, John Ehrenkranz.

In addition to recognizing 25 years of accomplishments, we honored longtime corporate partner the Macquarie Group Foundation and our 2012 Volunteer Extraordinaire, Sharnae Scott. We also paid special tribute to New York Cares’ critical role in the Hurricane Sandy relief and recovery efforts. The action-packed evening concluded on a high (as in 6’11”) note when NBA legend Bob Lanier (pictured right speaking with Sharnae Scott) worked his auctioneering magic to raise $225,000, bringing the grand total raised by the event to more than $1.45 million dollars. All funds raised will go directly to New York Cares’ ongoing programming.

By Rebecca Gnessin

A couple weeks ago, the Youth Service Clubs at The Facing History School and the Urban Assembly School of Design & Construction teamed up to create a 3D textural version of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Why 3D you may ask? Because the mural will be donated to the Jewish Guild for the Blind School so they can experience this iconic painting in a whole new way.

A group of 10 – 15 volunteers met four times over the course of a month to work on it. The mural was divided into six panels to make it easier for the volunteers to work. Most of the supplies were donated by Materials for the Arts, a great organization that distributes art supplies to different agencies around the city. You could tell the volunteers all had a blast choosing textures, and a few of them even learned how to sew in the process! Check out some of the pictures of students working, as well as the finished product:

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This summer we ran our first Youth Service program open to all New York City public school students, giving them a chance to get out into the community and make a difference. The Teen Service Team is back for the fall, and we’re looking for teens who want to have new experiences, see new places, and meet new people.

Participating in community service is a great way to learn about yourself, social issues, and the world – and you’ll also improve your college applications and résumé while having a positive impact in the community.

If hosting a karaoke party at a senior center, cleaning up a beach front, or painting inspirational murals at a community center sound like fun to you or a high schooler you know, read more about how to get involved, and download the application.

We’re launching a new service program for teens who want to get out into the community and make a difference this summer.

Members will meet up twice a week to learn about social issues affecting New York City and then roll up their sleeves and head into the five boroughs to deal with them. Learn more about how to get involved and apply, and spread the word to any teens you know.

Inspired by these words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Youth Service Club students from Manhattan Center High School came together for an MLK Day discussion with a group of New York Cares volunteers from Dr. King’s generation to reflect on his commitment to serving others and envision the future of service in New York City.

Youth Service Club Member Reidy told the group, “I started volunteering as an obligation, but I continued because I love it. It opens your eyes to people who live differently or have less than you.”

The students were thrilled to have a chance to talk with a generation that witnessed such great societal change and dig deeper into history, and the volunteers were inspired by their commitment to volunteerism:  “Everything restarts with the young generation – and they are dynamite. We are hopeful that change will come.”  — Community Leader Ena McPherson

Check out some of our pictures from the ING Marathon — youth volunteers from The Urban Assembly Academy for History and Citizenship for Young Men and the High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies gave their support to the thousands of runners this year by registering runners, assembling gift bags, giving refreshments and cheering them on as they ran the 26.2 mile stretch through all five boroughs.

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Our Youth Service Clubs are determined to freshen up the 20th Precinct in the Upper West Side. This summer students from the Performance Conservatory High School began removing graffiti from mailboxes, newsstands, and sign posts in the neighborhood, and last month students from Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice went back to finish off the job.

Armed with rollers and dark green paint donated by Councilwoman Gail Brewer’s Office and Beacon Paint and Hardware, the volunteers spent an afternoon putting a fresh coat of paint over the graffiti pointed out by officers from the Community Policing Unit.

After learning about ways to prevent crimes like vandalization, the youth volunteers were all eager to begin putting their knowledge to work cleaning up their own neighborhoods as well.

The start of the school year means our Youth Service Clubs will be getting ready for another year of service. We’re excited to continue the program we piloted this summer with the Department of Juvenile Justice at Horizon Juvenile Center.

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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 »

It’s been a busy summer for the students who participated in our six-week  Youth Service Summer Program. Here are a few highlights:

Meal Service
Students from the FDNY Explorers Program in Brooklyn teamed up with Momentum AIDS Project to pack pantry bags and serve meals to the homeless and low-income families at Holy Trinity Church.

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