Happy National Volunteer Month from PbP New York
According to Merriam-Webster, a volunteer is a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service. In honor of National Volunteer Month, Project by Project recognizes the importance of volunteering and those who actively are making a difference in our communities.
Why is National Volunteer Month meaningful?
Volunteering includes doing something nice for your neighbor, helping out a friend or family, or spending time supporting your local community.
The 2018 Volunteering in America report showed that 77.34 million adults volunteered through an organization in 2017. That same year, Americans volunteered nearly 6.9 billion hours, which is worth an estimated $167 billion in economic value.
Across all chapters for almost 25 years, Project by Project has also delivered nearly $1,000,000 in monetary impact and 50,000 hours of service to Asian American communities.
April is dedicated to thanking individuals who contributed their time and efforts to helping meaningful causes, big or small. Whether it’s giving out food to the ones who need it, donating blood, or babysitting a neighbor’s child, a little help can go a long way.
What you can gain from volunteering
Helping others and volunteering can improve your health, wellbeing, and longevity - we are not making this up!
By stepping out of your comfort zone and facing new problems, you will learn new skills and find different ways to overcome them.
Along your journey, you will make meaningful connections and new friendships. By having conversations with different people, you may even find a spark that may even change your life!
You can make an impact in the community and the world you want to live in.
One thing is for sure; you will have fun!
At PbP, many of our volunteers join as Steering Committee members to increase their exposure to the nonprofit sector, widen their Asian American network, and address pressing AAPI issues. Being a volunteer is hard work, but we have a lot of fun!
“A volunteer is someone who sees something unjust and does something about it. We have the power to impact those around us, to shift history, to address unjust issues. There is no better time than now to volunteer.”
You can make a difference!
At Project by Project, our members are passionate about what the organization stands for. We come together outside of work to help and educate others about issues impacting the AAPI community.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” - Mahatma Ghandi
You can make a difference by volunteering too. Whether it is with Project by Project or with another organization in New York, here are a few opportunities to help:
SafeWalks NYC
Founder Peter Kerre launched an Instagram page after 10 women were assaulted at a Brooklyn subway station in January 2021. With increasing amounts of subway crime and xenophobic attacks on elderly Asians relating to COVID-19, SafeWalks are working towards expanding outside of Brooklyn.
You can request a safewalk or volunteer to walk someone.
Rescuing Leftover Cuisine
RLC is a non-profit organization that presents solutions to help reduce food waste and food insecurity. It is headquartered in New York City but also operates in 16 other cities across America. Sign up to be a volunteer and help transport food from their donor partners to local homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other human service agencies in our communities
Henry Street Settlement
By listening and learning from their neighbors, Henry Street Settlement has impacted tens and thousands of families in their neighborhood. Henry Street offers various programs to help the residents of New York City’s Lower East Side from pre-school to employment to mental health. Check out how you can help Henry Street Settlement by being a volunteer.
Find Henry Street Settlement on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Thank you to our Project by Project team
Project by Project would also like to take this opportunity to thank our fantastic team of volunteers who set aside time outside of work for our organization. With individuals of different backgrounds sharing their skills and talent, we are able to innovate and serve the Asian American community together.
Volunteers from our team recently completed our Cases project for 6-8 weeks with Homecrest Community Services. The team helped put together social media posts for the non-profit organization and trained the Homecrest team on social media strategies and tactics.
We are looking forward to our upcoming CASES project which will be from mid-May to July. There will be more information on this project and we welcome anyone who wants to participate. Feel free to reach out to us at outreach.ny@projectbyproject.org!
