New Yorkers Volunteer -
Tell Us What You're Doing in Your Community!
New Yorkers Volunteer wants to help promote your organization’s stories of
service and volunteer initiatives as part of the President and First Lady’s United
We Serve campaign and Serve.gov website. Governor Paterson and the
First Lady have been leading the charge to support the United We Serve campaign
and elevate the level of volunteering in New York through the State’s service initiative
– New Yorkers Volunteer!
The State Commission on National & Community Service would like to assist all organizations
across the state interested in sharing amazing stories that your volunteers, employees,
and national service members make happen every day by volunteering! The Governor
and First Lady respect and appreciate the service commitment of all New Yorkers
which provides critical services and helps to make our communities healthier, more
environmentally sound, and economically stronger.
To help promote the good work your organization makes happen, please email us a
summary of service projects you may have planned, or a follow up summary/press release
of successful events with any photos you would like to share to
NewYorkersVolunteer@NewYorkersVolunteer.ny.gov. The State Commission will
feature these stories at www.NewYorkersVolunteer.ny.gov,
and organize them into a New York State service brief to share with the White House.
Feel free to share as many stories as you’d like and be sure to visit Serve.gov
to see if your story was posted!
Thank you in advance for your continued support and for making New York greater
every day by volunteering!
Here are just a few amazing stories of service taking place across New York State...
Met Council, New York City
As a top anti-poverty agency in NYC, helping 100,000 New Yorkers fight poverty each
year with critical services, Met Council benefits from the generosity of hundreds
of volunteers each year as they complete numerous, varied projects. Volunteers often
help provide services and company for seniors living in Met Council’s housing sites,
distribute food at shelters, and help in various projects for the aging, ailing
and poor. Here are four examples of our recent, successful volunteer events.
Click Here to Read the Full Story
iMatter Surf Camp for Children with Autism
It is with great enthusiasm that I share with you the success of a program that
hundreds of New Yorkers volunteer with every single year. It is the iMatter Surf
Camp for Children with Autism. The iMatter Surf Camp takes place every year at Cupsogue
Beach in Westhampton, NY. The iMatter Surf Camp is sponsored by Community Options,
Inc. which is a national nonprofit organization that develops community-based homes
and entrepreneurial business opportunities for people with developmental disabilities.
Click Here to Read the Full Story
James Shevlin, American Red Cross
James Shevlin was as anxious as any parent for his son’s safety when his son went
to serve in Iraq as a US Marine in 2003. As he related, “It’s scary when your child
goes away and may possibly die. And the prospect of my son going missing was horrible.”
A colleague at work had told him how the Red Cross had helped a family locate a
missing soldier in Iraq. Shevlin was comforted to know that part of the mission
of the Red Cross is to facilitate emergency communications between military personnel
and their families through its Service to Armed Forces (SAF) program. And it inspired
him to volunteer.
Click Here to Read the Full Story
Geron Holmes – Sunshine Prevention Center for Youth and Families
I would like to share a story of one of our volunteers at Sunshine Prevention Center
for Youth & Families. His name is Geron Holmes. Geron has been involved at Sunshine
Prevention Center for many years. He first came as a participant in the summer program
as a young child. As he grew into his adolescent years, Geron faced many challenges
in school and his community. He was required to perform community service hours
as a consequence for negative behaviors and he was accepted to do the hours at Sunshine
Center. He was responsible and respectful to all the Sunshine staff. At that time
we began to see the needs for additional services for suspended youth. Geron was
the inspiration behind the implementation of our new Prevention Not Suspension program
(An Alternative Program for High Risk Youth).
Click Here to Read the Full Story