Tag Archives: ioby

For Immediate Release: ioby Supper Club Launch Event with Chef Dave Martin

8 Sep

ioby launches exclusive Supper Club Series with September 15th event
Food. NYC. Youth. Health. Environment. Gardens. Good

ioby, a nonprofit organization that brings environmental projects to life in NYC neighborhoods, will kick-off a series of Supper Club events with an inaugural dinner on Thursday, September 15th at St. Marks Church in the Bowery featuring food by Chef Dave Martin of Bravo’s Top Chef: Season One and wines from Victor Schwartz of V.O.S. Selections.

This event will be the first in a series of dinners in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx where New Yorkers will dine outside for a spectacular, seasonal gourmet meal and learn more about the social, health and environmental impacts the city of New York faces due to food access issues. Proceeds from the series’ ticket sales will go to the Supper Club Fund that supports the many ioby projects that increase access to healthy food for NYC youth. Tickets from this dinner will directly benefit two selected ioby projects: Culinary Kids and La Plaza Cultural. Project leaders from Culinary Kids in Far Rockaway and La Plaza Cultural on East 9th Street will be at the dinner to share stories from their great work.

This intimate and rare dining experience will include a four-course seasonal meal and wine pairings. Tickets are limited to 35 diners: $125 apiece.

Press Contact: Erin Barnes, erin@ioby.org, 917-464-4515 x2, 203-606-7710

About ioby:

ioby stands for “in our backyards,” and connects New Yorkers to environmental projects in their own neighborhoods through an online crowd-resourcing platform. On ioby.org, anyone can raise money, organize volunteers and share ideas for local environmental change. Since launching the beta site in May 2009, New Yorkers making micro-donations (on average $37) to discrete, site-specific ioby projects, have contributed more than $120,000 and have fully funded more than 85 successful projects in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. ioby is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, co-founded by three graduates of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

About Chef Dave Martin:

Chef Dave Martin gained notoriety as a Chef-testant and finalist on the first season of Bravo’s Top Chef where he placed third. Since his appearance he has created quite a name for himself as a chef, cookbook author, brand ambassador, consultant and caterer. His mantra of using the freshest and best ingredients and creating “flavorful food without the fat,” coincides directly with ioby’s mission. 

About Victor Schwartz:

For the past 25 years, Victor Schwartz and V.O.S. SELECTIONS have been importing and distributing the finest wines, spirits and sakes to the top echelon of restaurants and wine shops throughout the New York metropolitan area. V.O.S. values quality over quantity and in doing so has created a portfolio of fine artisanal wines and spirits from across the globe.

 

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Photography and Event Volunteers Needed!

28 Aug

One of NYC’s non-profits that is near and dear to my heart, ioby (stands for “in our backyards”),  is in need of volunteers for upcoming Fall events. Specifically, they’re looking for photographers to help capture some of the awesomeness that will occur, but sommeliers, cater waiters, and general volunteers are also needed.

A new professional or photography student looking to build his or her portfolio could use this as an opportunity to work with emerging leaders in NYC. ioby has a high standard of work already, based on the excellent work of three photographers at their last event; pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ioby/sets/72157625293725151/

The events are quite different from each other, but all are fundraisers for ioby or projects on ioby. They are, chronologically:

Sept 10th: A largely LGBTIQ late night costumed dance party at a private residence in Lower Manhattan

Sept 15th: An intimate outdoor dinner party at St. Mark’s Church on the Bowery featuring Bravo’s Top Chef Dave Martin and other celebrities (*experience in shooting food required). Get tickets here: http://supperclubbouwerie.eventbrite.com/

Sept 18th: An afternoon rooftop panel discussion about rooftops

Nov 10th: An evening benefit in Brooklyn (location to be confirmed)

Nov 12th: Design exhibition in Brooklyn (date to be confirmed)

Dec 30th: A top chef prepared oyster and champagne fundraiser featuring sustainably raised oysters and the farmers who raised them. (date to be confirmed)

Interested photographers should send a short email of interest, resume and link to portfolio to Erin at erin@ioby.org with “Photographer” in the subject line.

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ioby Goes Guerrilla

15 Apr

On my way to work yesterday I spotted a sign near Penn Station that caught my eye. I recognized the logo immediately and knew it belonged to my friends at ioby (‘in our backyards’), so I forced my way back against the morning rush of commuter foot traffic to get a better look. The sign said “with ioby I could be..” with the blank filled in to say “a Farmer’s Market!” 

After doing some online digging and calling Erin Barnes, one of the co-founders of ioby (much easier than digging), I found out that this sign was part of a guerrilla effort carried out by ioby supporters, with the intention of encouraging people to ‘reimagine’ spaces they see in their communities, and that ioby can help those ideas become realities. Erin explained that “ioby is a move out of the environmental movement’s NIMBY past. ioby is all about saying, ‘This is my neighborhood and I want positive change right here. I’ve got an idea and I’m going to make it happen with my neighbors.”

The Reimagine signs were placed all over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens (and maybe the Bronx and SI, but I couldn’t recognize the other boroughs in pictures). Each sign had it’s own message; some people imagined spaces could be community vineyards, murals, rooftop gardens, and more. You can check out all of the reimagined spaces on ioby’s Facebook page.

Sadly, this particular sign was already taken down by this morning, but it was cool while it lasted. As someone who works in advertising, I really appreciate the appropriateness of a grassroots marketing effort by a grassroots organization; getting creative, getting dirty, and going guerrilla.

~

ioby connects donors and volunteers to environmental projects in their neighborhoods to inspire new environmental knowledge and action in New York City. If you’ve got an idea about making your ‘backyard’ community a better place and want to make it happen, check out the ioby website to see how they can help.

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Force of Human Nature: Spring Volunteer Activities Outdoors

24 Mar
2011

This post was originally written for offManhattan, an eco travel site featuring destinations out of Manhattan that are accessible sans car.

Whether or not the weather agrees, Spring is officially here. It’s time to put those winter sweaters back into storage and dust off your flip flops. It’s also the perfect time to volunteer in New York City. As the seasons change, so do the opportunities available; there are gardens to be planted, parks to prepped for the onslaught of visitors, and other outdoor projects that are most enjoyable in the cool sunshine of Spring. Below are some ideas for outdoor volunteer projects and activities that you can sign up for right now:

Pick A Day, Any Day

Are you too busy for a big time commitment? Sign up for these one-day volunteer events:

  • ‘It’s My Park Day’ is an bi-annual event taking place this spring on May 21st, 2011. You don’t even have to register: just find a participating park and GO. Partnerships for Parks invites dedicated community groups to organize volunteer projects and free cultural events in their neighborhood parks, in the hopes that people will come out to help and learn more about year-round opportunities. There will be over 150 community organizations and parks participating throughout the 5 boroughs.
  • Hands On New York Day: Join New York Cares and 5,000 other volunteers on April 16th to make our city’s parks and gardens cleaner, greener, and ready for summer. You can join my team or start your own!
  • Million Trees Planting Event: The city’s Million Trees Initiative has an ambitious goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across the City’s five boroughs over the next decade. On April 30th, 2011 you can help them reach that goal by joining them in one of five parks in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island and volunteer to help plant 20,000 trees in one day!

Runs Don’t Run Themselves

New York City plays host to a slew of fundraising 5K’s and walks, and all of them need volunteers to help ensure the day goes smoothly. You can help by handing out water along the route, checking in participants, cleaning up after the race, or even cheering! Here are some upcoming runs and contact info:

  • New York Road Runners: Find more races and opportunities here by signing up to volunteer at any NYRR race. All opportunities in 2011 will count as a volunteer credit toward the 9+1 Program for those who would like to receive a guaranteed entry to the 2012 ING New York City Marathon.

Going Green for the Season

There are many organizations that are dedicated to community gardening and environmental education all year long. Now that Spring has arrived, they’ll need help for the busy planting season. Check out these groups for on-going volunteer opportunities with varying commitment levels:
  • ioby (which stands for ‘in our backyards’) connects donors and volunteers to environmental projects in their neighborhoods to inspire new environmental knowledge and action in New York City. They have sponsored projects in need of volunteers to plant veggies, building gardens and educating the public; email volunteer@ioby.org for more info or visit the website.
  • TimeBanksNYC Green April is a month-long marathon of eco-friendly, green-inspired projects. Each Saturday in April, TBNYC will be in a different borough for an environmental community service event. To gain access to the Green April events, attend the volunteer kick-off event on March 30th at the Horticultural Society of NY; RSVP at volunteer@timebanksnyc.org.
  • New York Cares is the all-encompassing, citywide mecca for volunteers. Just sign up online and attend a 45-minute orientation and you’ll be able to access their database of 1,000’s of projects that take place all over the city, from Pelham Bay Park to Gregory’s community garden in Brooklyn and almost everything in between. You can volunteer once, weekly, monthly; whatever you schedule, NY Cares has something for everyone.
  • Slow Food NYC is the New York City chapter of Slow Food, a non-profit, member-supported organization founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life. From time to time they need volunteers to staff events or to help with outreach programs. Contact them at volunteering@slowfoodnyc.org to find out what’s available now; for one, they will be preparing their neighborhood farm in Brownsville on April 16th, 30th and June 4th for the upcoming summer program for 100 local kids.

For more environmentally-helpful volunteer projects, visit my spring greening tips from last year, “Volunteerism in Full Bloom.”

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