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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 130-05
April 6, 2005

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND UNITED WAY OF NEW YORK CITY UNVEIL VOLUNTEER WEB SITE AND ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, United Way of New York City (UWNYC) President and CEO Lawrence Mandell and Mayor’s Volunteer Center Executive Director Nazli Parvizi today announced VolunteerNYC, a web site that is specifically tailored to New York City, allowing individuals to search over 500 volunteer opportunities by criteria such as area of interest, zip code or time availability.  VolunteerNYC is available through www.nyc.gov.  The Mayor was joined at the event by Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and UWNYC Senior Vice President for Marketing Bertina Ceccarelli at the Highbridge Recreation Center in Washington Heights.

“Volunteering is a great way to bring people together and to give back to our community,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “Until now, there has been no central database listing different volunteer opportunities in New York City.  VolunteerNYC is a great tool to help New Yorkers find volunteer opportunities that are compatible with their busy lives.” 

“Part of United Way’s mission is to help strengthen New York City nonprofits, either financially or by helping build their capacity,” said Lawrence Mandell, President and CEO of UWNYC.  “This is a very easy, effective way for individuals to find fulfilling opportunities, while giving agencies a greater ability to tap into the talent and energy of New Yorkers.”

“We strive to enable every New Yorker to become a volunteer,” said Nazli Parvizi, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Volunteer Center.  “With innovative technology and strategic partnerships with nonprofits like United Way of New York City, we get closer to realizing this vision every day.”

The VolunteerNYC web site allows New Yorkers to search for volunteer opportunities by subject areas such as arts & culture; hunger & homelessness; and education & literacy. Once you logon to the site, you’ll get information on how you can tutor a child through Learning Leaders, visit soup kitchens through the Food Bank for New York City or become a mentor through the National Mentoring Partnership.  The web site is powered by Volunteer Solutions, a volunteer matching application used by other United Ways around the country.

The ad campaign was also unveiled today to help promote VolunteerNYC. The campaign, designed pro bono by Publicis New York features famous New York City icons giving their time such as: Spiderman reading to children, Rockefeller Center’s Atlas helping a senior citizen grocery shop, and a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloon delivering a meal to a home-bound senior.  The ads will be featured on bus shelters throughout the 5 boroughs during April and May of 2005. In addition, Sam Raimi at Columbia Pictures and their Little Apple Heroes Program, The Rockefeller Group, Tishman Speyer Properties and Federated Department Stores all contributed to the advertising campaign.

New Yorkers who are looking for volunteer opportunities but do not have internet access can dial 311.  Citizen Service Specialists at 311 can connect any New Yorker to a non-profit organization that has plenty of volunteer opportunities, or can transfer New Yorkers to the Mayor’s Volunteer Center, who can search VolunteerNYC on their behalf. 

UWNYC is a local nonprofit that creates and leads programs to help low-income New Yorkers become and remain self-sufficient. They identify precise needs within five specific areas: homelessness prevention; access to health care; education; economic independence; and strengthening NYC nonprofits.  They bring together partners and resources to develop and execute strategies that tackle the root causes of these problem areas and set goals, measuring and reporting progress to donors.  UWNYC is governed by volunteers and independently operated. 

The Mayor’s Volunteer Center of New York City brings together individuals, corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations in order to connect people and facilitate meaningful volunteer opportunities that significantly improve the quality of life in New York City.   Their mission is to provide the resources to enable every New Yorker to volunteer.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler / Jonathan Werbell   (212) 788-2958



GENERAL CONTACT:

Jeannette Reed (UWNYC)   (212) 251-2473


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