Focus Areas
We provide year-round volunteer opportunities for New Yorkers like you! Projects take place across NYC in the following areas:
- Educating children, teens, and adults
- Serving those impacted by hunger and homelessness
- Health and wellness for seniors and other vulnerable groups
- Caring for public parks, community gardens, and green spaces
We address issues deeply rooted in racial and economic injustice. Our values—equity, humanity, trust—drive our work.
Our programs have evolved over decades of on-the-ground experience. Our college access program is one example: volunteers help run the city's largest free SAT prep program. They also lead financial aid workshops, take students on college tours, and help them with their applications.
Though we're known for our iconic winter Coat Drive, it's just one program of many. Some volunteers do the same project every week, while others switch it up to get a taste for everything we offer. There are endless ways to get involved.
Pilot Programs
We develop new programs together with our community partners. Some of our current pilots include:
- Bilingual volunteering
- Parent and caregiver engagement at our partner schools
- Social-Emotional Learning for students.
- Supporting English Language Learners.
Pilots allow us to test and improve new programs based on results and feedback from our partners. Innovation drives us.
Communities First
We build on existing community resources and expertise to have the greatest impact. We learn from community leaders to understand how our programs can make the most impact in neighborhoods already facing steep challenges.
We support communities facing structural barriers to housing and food insecurity, racial disparities in income and employment, and barriers to education. While running programs across NYC, we centralize our efforts in areas hardest hit by the pandemic—Central Queens, East Brooklyn, and the South Bronx.
