by Heather Joseph

Mayor Mike Bloomberg has long had an office — NYC Service — to promote volunteering. Now, in conjunction with Americorps, the city expanding volunteering throughout the five boroughs with the newly created NYC Civic Corps. With their inaugural class now serving 60 nonprofits, the corps is designed to further promote volunteerism in our city while focusing on capacity-building by expanding the number of volunteers working at each organization.

The Food Bank's NYC Civic Corps team members, Amruta Kale, Phillip Cooke and Krystine Keeler wearing their "Go Orange" buttons

As part of this new initiative, the Food Bank For New York City has been provided with a team of three Civic Corps members. Working to support Volunteer Services, this team has expanded the Food Bank’s volunteer department from two to five members — making a significant difference in our efforts to recruit and support the volunteers who are essential to our hunger-relief programs. Most specifically, this team is recruiting volunteers for our CookShop and Tax Assistance Programs as well as our Community Kitchen & Food Pantry of West Harlem.

Busy as can be, the team has been working from day one learning the ins and outs of volunteer management. Our team members — Phillip Cooke, Amruta Kale and Krystine Keeter — spend their days calling schools, corporate supporters and community-based organizations to ensure that no potential volunteer stone goes unturned. And we’re excited to see the changes that are set to come with their full year of service to the organization.

Stay tuned for a guest post from our NYC Civic Corps member, Phillip Cooke!