• Spring Planting Season Begins for MillionTreesNYC
• New Book Celebrates Public Art in New York City’s Schools
• Mayor Announces NYC Service Initiative
• Fun Food, Smart Food Helps Kids Become Conscious Consumers and Cooks
• Greater NY Connects Business and Nonprofit Leaders
• MillionTreesNYC Training Program Receives Federal Funds as Model Green Collar Job Program
• Financial Empowerment Centers Expand

Sixth Annual Benefit of the Mayor’s Fund
Fete de Swifty, Wednesday September 23, 2009
East 73rd Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, 6:00 p.m.
For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/fund.

PUBLIC ART FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOOK PUBLISHED

Public Art for Public Schools, released this month, provides a comprehensive account of the history and future of artwork in public schools. Written by Michele Cohen, the book features 1,500 works in New York City schools, from vast mural cycles commissioned by the WPA to contemporary installations commissioned through the Percent for Art Program. A portion of the book’s proceeds will go to the Mayor’s Fund and the Fund for Public Schools to support arts education. To purchase a copy, please visit the City Store website at www.nyc.gov/citystore.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE LAUNCHED

On April 20, Mayor Bloomberg introduced NYC Service, a new initiative to promote service and volunteerism in New York City. NYC Service has three main goals: to channel the power of volunteers to address the impacts of the current economic downturn, to make New York City the easiest city in the U.S. in which to serve, and to ensure every young person in New York City is taught about civic engagement and has an opportunity to serve.

As part of the initiative, the Mayor launched NYC Civic Corps, which will match more than 200 individuals with local public and nonprofit organizations to help build sustainable volunteer programs.

If you are interested in applying to NYC Civic Corps, hosting a Civic Corps member at your organization, or for general information about NYC Service go to www.nyc.gov/service.

Fun Food, Smart Food, a 12-week cooking and nutrition program for middle school-age youth launched in January 2009. The program, generously supported by a grant from Jessica Seinfeld, is being piloted in six City afterschool program sites in Central Brooklyn and Harlem-neighborhoods targeted because of high rates of obesity, diabetes, asthma and heart disease.

FreshDirect is contributing fresh food and groceries, and Baby Buggy, founded by Jessica Seinfeld, is providing baskets of groceries for students so that they can prepare the recipes they learn at home with their families.

GREATER NY JOINS EXECUTIVES TO ADDRESS CURRENT CHALLENGES

This spring the Mayor’s Fund is introducing a new initiative, Greater New York. Launched by private sector business leaders in response to the current economic crisis, Greater New York is a strategic partnership program that pairs business executives with nonprofit executive directors in an effort to build stronger and more effective nonprofits. Through two-year one-on-one partnerships, leaders work together to develop innovative solutions using best practices from both the private and nonprofit sectors.

Greater New York is one of several new programs announced by the Mayor on April 6 to help nonprofit organizations weather the financial crisis. For more information on the Mayor’s nonprofit initiatives, please go to www.nyc.gov/nonprofit.

MILLIONTREESNYC JOB TRAINING PROGRAM GETS NATIONAL RECOGNITION

The MillionTreesNYC Job Training Program has been achieving great success and garnering national attention in its pilot year. The program provides paid on-the-job forestry and horticulture training to young adults not enrolled in school or on a career path, and is part of the Mayor’s Center for Economic Opportunity.

After completing field training in arboriculture, ecological restoration, and garden design and management in the fall, the participants took part in an educational curriculum at the New York Botanical Garden. Currently participants are putting this education into practice in New York City parks and reforestation sites, community gardens and on sidewalks by helping plant and care for trees.

In recognition of the innovative design of the Training Program, as well as increasing demand for green collar jobs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the Mayor’s Fund $2 million to provide paying jobs for the Training Program graduates to support ecological restoration. On April 7, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack joined Mayor Bloomberg and the Training Program participants in the Bronx (at left) to make the announcement. This year’s participants will graduate in May and will be placed into paid positions this summer. The second class of participants will be recruited this summer and begin training in the fall.

FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVES EXPAND REACH

Since its launch in June 2008, the first Financial Empowerment Center in Melrose, Bronx has conducted over 400 individual counseling sessions to New Yorkers to address a range of issues from debt and credit concerns to taking control of their finances and establishing savings plans. In recognition of the critical financial counseling and coaching services these Centers provide, the Mayor announced the expansion of the Financial Empowerment Center Initiative, which will grow to six centers citywide by the end of 2009 in targeted areas such as Jamaica, Queens.

The new Centers will be held to ambitious performance outcomes and will be expected to provide 2,000-2,500 counseling sessions a year, and reach established targets for client improvement including managing credit, decreasing debt, decreasing use of fringe financial products and services and improving financial control.

To support any of these or other innovative public projects, please visit www.nyc.gov/fund.
Together we can make a difference.

Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City
One Centre Street, 23rd Floor
New York, NY 10007
Phone (212) 788-7794 - Fax (212) 669-8484
www.nyc.gov/fund

For general NYC information call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov