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NYC Walk to Beat Lung Cancer

22 Oct

On Sunday October 24th, head to Battery Park downtown to show your support for the fight against Lung Cancer. LUNGevity, a 501 (c)(3) organization founded ten years ago by seven lung cancer patients, has become one of the fastest growing charities funding research into the detection, treatment, and cure of lung cancer.. Here are some more important facts about LUNGevity:

• LUNGevity was awarded Charity Navigator’s perfect four-star rating for sound fiscal management in 2009.

• Every dollar that LUNGevity Foundation spends on research is doubled by our granting partnerships with the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, and other organizations.

• Since its inception in November 2000, LUNGevity has committed to co-funding more 70 studies, worth more than $8 million, in innovative lung cancer research projects at the foremost cancer institutions in America.

• In 2009, LUNGevity funded more than twice the number of new research studies as any other lung cancer organization.

• LUNGevity Foundation benefits from more than 50 events across the country, all of which are initiated and implemented by volunteers. We fund hope together with more than 20,000 participants from all over the US.

This event will take place rain or shine! The first 1,000 registrants will receive a tote bag and t-shirt.

(Meet in front of Battery Gardens Restaurant)

For more information visit the event website: http://events.lungevity.org/site/TR?fr_id=2520&pg=entry

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Guest Blogger: McKenzie Mahoney

29 Sep

My good friend McKenzie recently wrote about her experience volunteering at God’s Love We Deliver, an organization you’ve read about before on Give and Get NYC. Her time spent there is more unique, however, because of her culinary background and weekly commitment to working in the God’s Love kitchen. She was awesome enough to let me share her story here…


Why I Chop: A Love Letter to God’s Love We Deliver

By McKenzie Mahoney

I vividly remember the first day I walked into God’s Love We Deliver after a seriously lengthy hiatus; I was apprehensive to entering the doors, nervous and embarrassed that I had not been in so long. My excuses were baseless and kind of ridiculous; after culinary school I got busy, work got in the way, my social life got in the way, etc etc. I kept putting off the inevitable realization that surely I could carve out a set time each week to volunteer right? Yet it wasn’t until I heard about their “World’s Largest Potluck” this past spring that I finally took some action.

With support from friends, I set up a potluck to raise money for GLWD and was surprised to receive correspondence from the office directly asking if there was anything I needed, etc. Thanks to my loving friends, family and neighbors….we raised over $300 for GLWD. It was then that I realized there were no excuses; I had to get back in the kitchen!

For those of you not familiar with Gods Love We Deliver, a quick primer….

It all began with one woman, Ganga Stone, a hospice volunteer who began preparing and delivering meals for Richard Sayles, a patient she met who was living with AIDS and did not have the ability to cook for himself. Rain or shine, she would deliver food to Mr. Sayles, and soon enough a snowball effect took hold as it went from one man to thousands of men, women and children. While GLWD has no religious affiliation, the organization received its name after a minister inquired what Ganga was doing and he replied that she was, “not just delivering food, but delivering God’s love.”

Since 1985 their mission has been clear: improve the health and well-being of men, women and children living with serious illnesses (HIV/AIDS, Cancers) by preparing and delivering nutritious and high quality meals to those who are unable to do so themselves. Understanding the need for more than just nutritious meals, GLWD offers nutrition education, counseling, and many other services. It’s an incredibly impressive operation, GLWD serves nearly one million meals a year, provided free of charge, no matter what your income may be.

Now back to getting in the kitchen…

Not more than five minutes after breezing through the Geffen building (on 6th Ave and Spring Street where GLWD was headquartered), was I back in the fold! Emily (the volunteer coordinator who has quickly become a dear friend) welcomed me with open arms and immediately got me set up with a quick re-introduction, a food safety seminar, and a few waiver forms.

As soon as the elevator doors opened to the basement kitchen and I wrapped the apron around my waist, I recognized how much I really missed this place. The people you meet, the conversations you have while working, the connections you make are literally indescribable. A melting pot of New Yorkers working together to improve the lives of fellow New Yorkers, its inspiring.

I am sure everyone says their crew is best, but I truly feel the people who work Mondays are a special bunch (in addition to those who work on weekend evenings). Most people spend their Monday evenings getting back into the groove from the weekend and prepare for their work week. The people who choose Monday evenings throw out any exhaustion or errands and dive right in! I personally chose Mondays because it allows me to start the week ahead off right with a little dose of giving back!

As stated before, the people really make the place. Some of my favorites on Monday include Gerry, the most loving and supportive man I have ever met, his smile and enthusiasm for life brighten my Monday evenings; Andrew, Monday nights father figure who sat with me at the emergency room for 4 hours as the doctor stitched up my knife wound (an accident I admit was due to carelessness on my part as I may have been talking too much!); and last but not least….Rachel, who recently left us to start her freshman year of college but was my lifeline to what its like to be a teenager nowadays, I am eagerly awaiting her Thanksgiving arrival.

While there are many ways to help (be it driving the vans, delivering meals, packing the meals, labeling items, or answering phones), I choose to work in the kitchen chopping various vegetables for soups, side dishes, and entrees. With Karee (the Chef) at the helm, the Monday night crew rocks out to some old school R&B (or whatever tunes Karee wants to jam out to) and chops away at  boxes and boxes of squash, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, and onions. We chop, laugh and chat oblivious to the ticking of the clock. The old saying is true, time flies when you are having fun because as soon as you walk in…you are on your way out!

I will sing the praises of Gods Love all over this world; it is a magical place where people selflessly donate their time, energy and money to helping others. Every night we hear how many meals are being delivered the next day and the figures always astound me…. 1800, 1600, you get the idea. I get chills thinking about the moment a GLWD volunteer knocks on a person’s door and hands them their meal; it must be such a joyous experience to see first hand the people you are helping. I have been floating the idea of staying in NYC for Christmas (much to my mothers disappointment), and if so will likely spend my Christmas Eve delivering meals around the city.

My love for GLWD knows no end; I look forward to celebrating many life moments downstairs in the kitchen. If you too are looking for ways to get involved in your community and are interested in GLWD, please visit the God’s Love We Deliver website at www.glwd.org, they are always looking for volunteers.

~

Continue to follow McKenzie’s foodie escapades and good will on her blog,

The MMMguide

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Sorting With Baby Buggy

6 Aug

What: Sorting clothing donations

Where: Baby Buggy HQ in the Fashion District

When: Tuesday and Wednesday nights, 6-8pm, through New York Cares

When you first walk into the Baby Buggy warehouse, you’ll notice something.. Plastic bins. They’re everywhere. Stacked on shelves and on the floor, they are filled to the brim with donations from all sorts of people and corporations. The tasks assigned to volunteers are different each night; our job for the night I was there was sorting clothing by size, and also sorting through a new donation for mutilated clothing. Whatever the task, there will be bins everywhere. Oh yes, there will be bins.

We started by going through donations that had been mended and fixed by the previous group of volunteers. We separated everything according to age and size until all 15 bins were empty (to be filled with new donations of course!). After we finished, we started a new, tedious task of sorting through a new donation; coming from a corporate retailer, the defects were few and far between, but hard to find, so one had to have a keen eye for detail in finding the tiny tears or holes. The next group of volunteers would undoubtedly be tasked with fixing the defected donations, and the group after that tasked with sorting by size. A beautiful cycle of repair and reuse to benefit the 500,000+ impoverished children of NYC.

According to their website, Baby Buggy is “a non-profit organization dedicated to providing New York City’s families in need with essential equipment, clothing, and products for their infants and young children. Since 2001, Baby Buggy has delivered over 4,000,000 essential items to thousands of families through our network of over 50 qualified social service partners.” These social service partners operate across the five boroughs and include “Safe Horizon Domestic Violence Shelters, Sanctuary For Families, the Harlem Children´s Zone, the NYC Administration for Children and Families Head Start Programs, the NYC Department of Homeless Services, and the NYC Health and Hospital Corporation, as well as many other community-based organizations city-wide.”
Baby Buggy differs from Room to Grow (another organization that serves women and children in poverty) because they distribute their donations to community-based organizations, or satellites as I call them, as opposed to Room to Grow, whose clientele go directly to the source to “shop” for their items. So although they serve a similar population, this is one major difference that sets them apart. In addition, Room to Grow operates in multiple cities, whereas Baby Buggy exists solely to benefit New Yorkers in need.

The way Baby Buggy mends their clothing was also quite nifty. They used decorative adhesives to cover and patch holes; many of the girl’s clothing I sorted had small butterflies on them, and I didnt realize why until half way through the project. They also used what looks like the same material as fabric bandaids, to close up tears in pants and shirts on the inside, so that the rip was imperceptible on the outside. Genius, really. I may try to find this for my own wardrobe-I hate to sew! Speaking of which, here are some other things to know:

-This is a great project for those of you who enjoy sewing or otherwise mending clothing. You can call ahead and find out which night that volunteer project might be going on (I went through New York Cares, and that seems to be the best way to volunteer as an individual)

-Unlike other sorting projects, Baby Buggy had some tunes playing, making the atmosphere a bit more relaxed. You’ll also be standing around a large table with about 10 other volunteers; get to know one another, as it will make the night go faster and you may make a new friend!

-Baby Buggy takes gently used and new clothing, product and gear for children 0-4 years old. To arrange a drop-off, pick-up, or info organizing a drive, visit this page.

-Baby clothes are soooooo cute.

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Pantry Party=Success!

21 Jun

For those who don’t know, last week I hosted a Pantry Party to benefit City Harvest’s Feed the Kids food drive. I think everyone had a good time, judging by the number of Pickle Back shots I saw delivered to our tables. Best of all, I received almost three times the amount of donations I had expected; the final tally came to over 150lbs! All of the donations were picked up by City Harvest and will help to feed thousands of NYC kids who don’t always have enough to eat, especially in the upcoming summer months.  Thanks again to everyone who came out and donated, and a special thanks to Rob at Whiskey Tavern for hosting the event and hooking us up with some great discounts!

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Fun and Somewhat Relevant Facts:

  • Beans were another popular donation, and luckily, our British friend Paul wasn’t in town that night to steal them. Apparently, those Brits love their beans: In 2009, 800 million tins were eaten in the UK. Considering that the second most prolific country was Australia, who ate a measly 60 million cans, it’s clear that our beans would have been in jeopardy had Paul been able to attend.
  • A Pickle Back shot is a shot of Jameson whiskey, followed by a shot of pickle juice. Sound gross? Don’t knock it til’ you try it-they’re surprisingly delicious.

This event was the first of many that Give & Get NYC will be hosting in the coming months. I want to provide young professionals in NYC a way to get together for a few drinks and a good cause without breaking the bank. If you have any suggestions for venues or donations, please comment or email me-I’m always open to new ideas. Be on the look-out for another party invite coming in mid-August!

Join Give and Get on Facebook!

If you missed the party but still want to donate to City Harvest, visit their website to find out how.

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Potluck for God’s Love We Deliver – Success!

24 May

Last night a good friend and fellow blogger hosted a potluck party as part of God’s Love We Deliver’s “World’s Largest Potluck”. She cooked up a tasty batch of chili for friends and coworkers who all came out to support the cause. Everyone showed up with something to share: samosas, wine, meatballs, and cupcakes. OH, the cupcakes… This party not only raised money for a cause; it raised everyone’s waist size by at least 1 or 2 sizes.

The night raised almost $200 for GLWD! Thanks to McKenzie for hosting a fabulous evening of food and friends for a great and meaningful cause.

For more information about GLWD, visit their website: http://godslovewedeliver.org/

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