Blog
Celebrating National Volunteer Month!
April 22, 2019

In honor of National Volunteer Month, we are celebrating all the incredible work that volunteers do at CUCS!

Volunteers are involved in many aspects of our work, from doing arts and crafts with residents at our transitional housing sites to helping our Career Network participants with interview preparation. There’s no one way to volunteer, but there are lots of ways to make a difference.

Our program works with corporate groups to create flexible and fun team-building projects. Check out some of the amazing work that our volunteers have done:

Volunteers from Goldman Sachs spent the day connecting with clients from our Career Network program. The volunteers shared their own stories of job searches and accomplishments, and walked the clients through mock interviews and resume help. 30 clients left feeling confident and better prepared to re-enter the workforce.

Volunteers from First Republic Bank helped kids at our Lenniger and Sydelle housing sites start the school year with their best foot forward by putting together almost 70 backpacks full of school supplies.

Taboola has enthusiastically dedicated much of their time to helping our clients feel appreciated. Volunteers have helped serve meals at Thanksgiving and Black History Month events at our Lenniger and Sydelle housing sites. They have also participated in arts and crafts events at Prospect Place, connecting with the women as they express themselves through art therapy.

Our Volunteer Program has also partnered with different stylists from local salons to offer haircuts and beauty days to the women at Prospect Place and to our Street Outreach clients. These events are incredibly special to our clients, who leave with big smiles and a newfound sense of confidence.

And during the holiday season, volunteers from The Related Companies helped wrap donated gifts to spread cheer to children in our supportive housing sites. We were able to hand out almost 150 gifts that helped children feel loved! Thanks to the efforts of Related’s volunteers, we were also able to provide kits of toiletries and cold weather supplies (such as gloves) to our Street Outreach and transitional housing clients. Jennifer McCool, Related’s Chief Legal Officer and CUCS board member, wrote that “we at Related really enjoyed our corporate event with CUCS. The work that CUCS does each day is so desperately needed and we are grateful for the opportunity to…help CUCS efforts”. She adds, “it was also a wonderful opportunity for internal team building.”

Thanks to our dedicated partners, our volunteer program is a key part of our work of building brighter futures for New Yorkers. If you would like to get involved with your corporate group, we would love to design a fun and impactful project with you. To get started, you can visit the volunteer page on our website, or email volunteer@cucs.org.