by Brian Pham

The Food Bank recently welcomed two special new volunteers: Mallory Shan and Ayyappan (Pan) Venkatraman, members of the New York City Civic Corps. The Civic Corps is a group of 150 or so engaged New York citizens, employed full-time by the Mayor’s Office, the NYC Service Department, and Americorps. Sworn in by Mayor Bloomberg himself at city hall, corps members are assigned ten-month positions at non-profits throughout the city to help establish the long-term infrastructure necessary to operate successful volunteer programs. 

Top: Swearing in by Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Bottom: Brian Pham, Volunteer Services Manager, with Mallory and Pan, the Food Bank’s new NYC Civic Corps volunteers

The Food Bank’s civic corps members – like our 2009 corps members Krystine, Phillip and Amruta before them — are going to help us find wonderful new volunteers (like you!) not just for the next few months, but for years to come. This year, Mallory and Pan will be working on a number of initiatives for the Food Bank, including the Community Kitchen in West Harlem, our Tax Assistance Program and the CookShop nutrition education program.

Let’s hear about the newest members of the Food Bank family from Mallory and Pan themselves:

MALLORY: “I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts but have recently found myself calling New York City home. I went to school at New York University, where I graduated in May 2010 with a Bachelors of Science degree in nutrition. I applied to become a Civic Corps member because I’m very passionate about working in a non-profit setting, especially one that involves food and nutrition. I couldn’t have asked for a better placement than the Food Bank For New York City. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of orientations, trainings and getting situated in the Food Bank community. Everyone has been more than welcoming and helpful during this time of transition. Moving forward, I am excited to dive into the volunteer projects with my fellow corps member, Pan!  

PAN: “I graduated from Amherst College in May of 2009 as a music major. I moved to New York City last winter to work in the music industry, but soon realized that I wanted to pursue something service oriented. When I heard about the New York City Civic Corps, I knew it was an opportunity to serve people in need that I had to take advantage of. I’m proud to be working with Mallory and the rest of the Food Bank staff to help provide meals and other support to so many New Yorkers. Though these next ten months are going to be hard work, I’m really excited for the experiences I’ll have and the people I’ll meet.”  

Learn about the accomplishments of our 2009 Civic Corps members by reading their blog posts — just use the Search bar to your right and search for Krystine Keeler, Phillip Cooke and Amruta Kale.