June 2013

Greetings,

The summer is nearly here, the beaches are open, and service in New York City is just heating up. It's the perfect time to try something new, and even serve in the sun with fellow New Yorkers. Be a bigger part of your local street fairs and community events, and check out the organizations working with NYC Service who could use your BLANK!

News at NYC Service

Sandy Service with Tourism Cares
NYC & Company, New York City's official marketing, tourism, and partnership organization, welcomed Tourism Cares, the nation's largest tourism industry volunteer group, to the city for the group's 10th Anniversary Give-Back event, Tourism Cares for America, on May 31st. They partnered with NYC Service to engage 600 tourism industry volunteers in Brooklyn and Queens in a daylong beautification effort in the Sandy impacted Coney Island and Rockaway Beach. NYC & Company, Tourism Cares, and NYC Service worked with the National Parks Service, the NYC Parks Department, and the New York Aquarium to coordinate 6,000 hours of volunteer work to preserve two important NYC tourist attractions for years to come. To learn more about volunteering in Sandy impacted areas, please visit us here.

News at NYC Civic Corps

NYC Civic Corps Member Application
NYC Civic Corps member application is still available. The NYC Civic Corps is an AmeriCorps program run by NYC Service. The program unites a diverse group of professionals to serve full-time with partnering organizations, working to increase their organizational capacity to engage volunteers and build sustainable volunteer initiatives. The 2013-2014 program year will run from September 1, 2013 - July 7, 2014. Learn more and share this service opportunity.

Volunteer Opportunities

Shape Up
Is your organization interested in giving New Yorkers the chance to 'Shape Up'? Visit the Shape Up NYCpage to find out more about hosting Shape Up NYC classes in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island.

Fancy Food Show Rescue
Join City Harvest in the largest food show rescue of the year - the Fancy Food Show! At the close of the show, volunteers will work in teams to collect perishable and non-perishable food donations which will be loaded onto four City Harvest trucks. We anticipate rescuing over 200,000 pounds of food which will be distributed to emergency food programs throughout the five boroughs. Volunteer for this event. 

Adventures NYC 2013
Join NYC Parks and Backpacker Magazine as volunteers for the 9th annual Adventures NYC, and discover adventure right here in your own backyard! Get ready to hike, bike, climb, and paddle as you celebrate NYC Parks and the great outdoors. Register.

Million Trees NYC
Join MillionTreesNYC to give trees a little "Tree LC" and stewardship, and help keep New York City green by coming to a free MillionTreesNYC tree care workshop. Workshops are focused on active tree care, so come ready to get your hands dirty and care for street trees along the sidewalk. Please wear closed-toed shoes and layered clothing that can get dirty. Tree stewardship is similar to gardening work, involving bending and kneeling on the sidewalk. Children are always welcome and must be accompanied by an adult. Help put your tree care skills to use and join us on a tour of the great trees in northern Staten Island afterwards!Register. 

Puppetry Arts Brooklyn Festival
Puppetry Arts is hosting an outdoors puppet festival on Saturday, June 15th. Volunteers will assist with set up, run crafts and activities, and breakdown following the event, with lunch provided. Special guests include C3P-O of Star Wars, Noel MacNeal, and Lionel from PBS Between The Lions. Volunteer for this event.

Special Projects & Announcements

Westchester Square Partnership
Westchester Square Partnership (WSP), a NYC Civic Corps host site, is a Bronx-based community organization that promotes the health, social, and economic empowerment of New York City's South Asian community through a learning-based partnership between families, health professionals, and other stakeholders. One barrier to empowerment in this immigrant community is lack of English language skills. To tackle this, WSP provides English classes to community members. In the 2012-2013 year, nearly 80 women attended classes.

On May 24th, WSP held a graduation ceremony for the Advanced ESL students who successfully completed the program. Students were joined by staff members and supporters from NYC Service, New York Women's Foundation, and Council Member Annabel Palma. Students shared their stories of challenges and triumphs and encouraged others to stick to their educational goals. The graduating students aim to return to college and join the workforce. For more information on programs at WSP and to lend your support, visitWSPNYC.

Partners featured in this newsletter:

Learn more about opportunities to volunteer by visiting NYC Service.
Remember to like us on facebook and follow us ontwittertoo!
Donate to any of the programs listed above through the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City