Helping to Make Our City Even Better
By Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
Since I was a kid,
I’ve always believed that giving
back to the community is one of the most important things we
can do. I first learned that lesson from my father, a bookkeeper
who always set part of his salary aside each year for charity.
As mayor, I’ve learned that there are thousands and thousands
of New Yorkers who demonstrate that same generosity each year.
The truth is that money
is not the only way to give back; all of us have the ability
to give something just as valuable: our time. There are many
organizations and groups in—every community, in every borough—looking for a helping hand. And there may be no better time
to give our time? than right now. After all, the sun is out...spring
is finally here...and finding a volunteer experience that is
meaningful and convenient couldn’t
be easier. Our city has a unique agency, the Mayor’s
Volunteer Center, which connects thousands of New Yorkers each
year with volunteer opportunities that best fit their needs,
skills, and interests. To make that matchmaking even more effective,
the Volunteer Center has partnered with United Way of New York
City to create a website with links to more than 400 organizations
with over 500 different activities in all five boroughs. And,
unlike most other search engines, this website thinks like
a New Yorker. That means you can confine your search request
to your borough, or even your zip code.
New Yorkers are busy
people?so we’ve tried to make volunteering
as simple and convenient as possible. Now it’s your turn:
I challenge you to find just one single hour in your week that
could be used more productively. Then visit www.nyc.gov, click
on the volunteering icon to access our database, and pick an
opportunity or activity that works best for you. It might be
delivering food to a soup kitchen with City Harvest?or working
with homeless children at the Actors Theatre Workshop. You
can tutor a student during your lunch hour through Learning
Leaders?or paint benches in your local park with Partnership
for Parks.
Even those who don’t have access to a computer can still
find a great volunteer opportunity? simply by calling 311.
One of our citizen service specialists will be able to connect
you to a City agency or local non-profit that has plenty of
volunteer opportunities? or you can speak with a representative
from our Volunteer Center, who can help with a more specific
request. There’s something for everyone.
And trust me, once
you start volunteering, you won’t
want to stop. It’s a wonderful way to meet new people...pick
up a new skill or two...and gain an incredible satisfaction
from doing your part to make our city? and our world? a little
bit better.#
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