[staff] What is the New York City Civic Corps?
Hello everyone I decided to blog about the NYC Civic Corps Program and the purpose of the program, as I know people are kind of unclear about the program. I wanted to provide some info on the Civic Corps Program. I hope this is helpful!
"The NYC Civic Corps supports nonprofit organizations and City agencies that want to use more volunteers, but struggle to manage and support sustainable volunteer programs. Our City's supply of ready-to-serve citizens outstrips the ability of our public and nonprofit sectors to accommodate them. The NYC Civic Corps is tasked with correcting this imbalance.
Corps members are dispatched to local organizations for one year with the charge of developing sustainable volunteer programs and organizational capacity. The ultimate goal of the NYC Civic Corps is to engage more New Yorkers in efforts to help our neighbors and tackle our toughest challenges." See the website for more information on the program.
Kelly and I are working in two different departments here at Global Kids and our overall goal is to create efficient sustainable programs and databases. Kelly is currently working on creating sustainable alumni programming. I am currently working with the Online Leadership Program (OLP) to create a sustainable conference database, do some research and networking with partner organizations, and produce an accurate 10-year timeline for OLP. The timeline will focus on key events such as news, events, and accomplishments throughout the last decade of OLP.
I decided to become a Vista because I really believe in the Vista approach and mission. I have always been interested in social/community work, but up to this point I had not found a program that fit my interest. I am generally interested in hands-on service and building a rapport with the individuals that I help.
The Vista Program is beneficial for all parties involved: Vista members get valuable work experience, organizations get much needed help, and we are helping to strengthen our community. It feels really good to be apart of something as historical as this: New York City is the first city to answer President Obama’s call to service.
Below are the actual logistics of the Program:
• Average age of corps members: 26
• Youngest corps member: 21
• Oldest corps member: 72
• Gender: 67% female, 33% male
• Members born in the US: 177, 89%
Countries represented (of those born outside the US): China, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Guatemala, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, Togo, Ukraine, and United Kingdom
Members from NYC: 93, 47%
Brooklyn: 25, 27%
Bronx: 13, 14%
Manhattan: 36, 39%
Queens: 17, 18%
Staten Island, 2, 2%
Members from NYS: 136, 68%
Other states represented: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois , Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia.
Host organizations for NYC Civic Corps
• Amigos del Museo del Barrio
• Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters of NYC
• Broadway Housing Communities
• Catholic Big Sisters and Big Brothers
• Catholic Charities NYC
• Citizens Advice Bureau, Inc.
• Citizens Committee for New York City
• Common Cents New York
• Community Environmental Center
• Community Health Action of Staten Island
• Computers For Youth Foundation, Inc.
• CUNY Citizenship and Immigration Project
• d/b/a Spoons Across America
• The Doe Fund
• Doing Art Together, Inc.
• DOROT, Inc.
• Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc.
• Episcopal Social Services of New York, Inc.
• FDNY Foundation
• Federation Employment and Guidance Service, Inc. (FEGS)
• Food Bank
• From Farm to Table, Inc.
• Girls Incorporated
• Global Kids
• Good Shepherd Services
• Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement
• Jewish Association for Services for the Aged
• Jumpstart
• Learning Leaders, Inc.
• Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT)
• Long Island City Business Development Corporation
• Mentoring USA
• Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council, Inc.
• Moshulu Preservation Corporation
• New York Cares
• New York Legal Assistance Group
• NYC Department for the Aging
• NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, Office of Financial Empowerment
• NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
• NYC Department of Education
• NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
• NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
• NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA)
• NYC Mayor's Office of Operations
• Phipps Community Development Corporation
• Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.
• ReServe Elder Service Inc.
• Safe Horizon
• SCO Family of Services / Center for Family Life
• Union Settlement Association, Inc.
• United Way of New York City
• University Settlement Society of New York
• Visiting Nurse Service of New York- Time Bank
• Year Up!
• Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association of Washington Heights
• YWCA of the City of New York
