PETS Project Profiled in New York Daily News and Time Out New York

We’re thrilled that the PETS Project recently received two fabulous write-ups in the New York media.

On November 1st the New York Daily News included a full-page article profiling the PETS. The article highlighted the unique service model PETS offers both clients and volunteers. The article quotes 93-year old Maria Zhorella, a former opera singer from Vienna and PETS Project client. Ms. Zhorella and her 16-year-old Tibetan terrier, Maxie, rely on regular support from the PETS Project volunteer corps. Ms. Zhorella told the New York Daily News that “without them, I would be lost…They are all so wonderful, and smart, and kind.”

We were so pleased that the Daily News Article has led to an increase in individual donations and volunteer inquiries.

The PETS Project was also profiled in the Thanksgiving issue of Time Out New York. The brief write-up highlighted volunteer opportunities with PETS and the program’s Thanksgiving pet food drive. Time Out New York reaches a large audience and we are already seeing an increase in volunteer inquiries from the exposure.

Check out both write-ups by clicking on the following links:

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2008/11/01/2008-11-01_older_pet_owners_hail_caring_volunteers.html

http://ny.timeout.com/newyork/articles/own-this-city/69022/have-a-heart/5.html

Holiday Volunteering at JASA

Get into the spirit this season and help make an
elderly New Yorker’s holiday a little brighter!

Here's a list of JASA's holiday volunteer opportunities.


Thanksgiving Flea Market Help at the
JASA/West Side Senior Center
On-Going until November 26th
(This center is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan)
Help West Side Senior Center seniors sort through, organize and price donated items for their winter Flea Market sale! Mondays-Fridays, 9am-4pm. For more information and to volunteer.

Fall-Fest Party at the
JASA/Manhattan/Brighton Beach Senior Center
Sunday, November 9th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn)
Join the JASA/Manhattan/Brighton Beach Senior Center for a fun Fall-Fest party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Thanksgiving Day Party at the
JASA/Williamsburg Senior Center
Sunday, November 9th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Join the JASA/Williamsburg Senior Center for a fun pre-Thanksgiving Day Party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Monthly Birthday Party at the
JASA/Roy Reuther Senior Center
Wednesday, November 12th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Far Rockaway, Queens)
Join the JASA/Roy Reuther Senior Center for a fun Monthly Birthday Party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

A Night to Remember at
JASA/Van Cortlandt Senior Center
Wednesday, November 19th, 4-6:30pm
(This center is located in the Bronx)
Join the JASA/Van Cortlandt Senior Center for a fun evening dinner party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, decorate, serve dinner, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors with Chinese-themed entertainment.

Thanksgiving Day Party at
JASA/Penn South Program for Seniors
Thursday, November 20th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Chelsea, Manhattan)
Join the JASA/Penn South Program for Seniors for a festive pre-Thanksgiving Day party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve lunch, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Thanksgiving Day Party at the
JASA/Holliswood Senior Center
Thursday, November 20th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Holliswood, Queens)
Join the JASA/Holliswood Senior Center for a festive pre-Thanksgiving Day party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Thanksgiving Day Party at the
JASA/Manhattan/Brighton Beach Senior Center
Thursday, November 20th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn)
Join the JASA/Manhattan/Brighton Beach Senior Center for a festive pre-Thanksgiving Day party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Thanksgiving Day Party at the
JASA/Van Cortlandt Senior Center
Wednesday, November 26th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in the Bronx)
Join the JASA/Van Cortlandt Senior Center for a fun and festive Thanksgiving Day party! Volunteers are needed to help set up, serve lunch, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Thanksgiving Day Party at the
JASA/Manhattan/Brighton Beach Senior Center
Sunday, November 23rd, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn)
Join the JASA/Manhattan/Brighton Beach Senior Center for a festive Thanksgiving Day party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Thanksgiving Day Party at the
JASA/Whitestone Senior Center
Monday, November 24th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Whitestone, Queens)
Join the JASA/Whitestone Senior Center for a festive pre-Thanksgiving Day party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Winter Bazaar and Flu Shots at the JASA/West Side Senior Center
Wednesday, November 26th, 9am-3:30pm
(This center is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan)
The JASA/WSSC Winter Bazaar will help raise money for the center and allow seniors to purchase inexpensive winter gifts. Volunteers are needed to sort items, set prices and sticker items, help set up, and staff tables. Additionally, volunteers are needed to help run the flu shot program by keeping lines orderly and efficient.

Thanksgiving Flea Market at the
JASA/West Side Senior Center
Wednesday, November 26th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan)
Join the JASA/West Side Senior Center for their annual Thanksgiving Flea Market Sale! Volunteers are needed to help sell items, set up tables, and interact with seniors and customers.

Thanksgiving Luncheon at the
JASA/Roy Reuther Senior Center
Wednesday, November 27th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Far Rockaway, Queens)
Join the JASA/Roy Reuther Senior Center for a fun Thanksgiving Luncheon! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Fall-Fest Party at the JASA/Williamsburg Senior Center
Friday, November 28th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Join the JASA/Williamsburg Senior Center for a fun Fall-Fest party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors.
Holiday Party at the JASA/Williamsburg Senior Center
Sunday, December 7th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Join the JASA/Williamsburg Senior Center for a festive Holiday party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Chanukah Party at the
JASA/Manhattan/Brighton Beach Senior Center
Sunday, December 14th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn)
Join the JASA/Manhattan/Brighton Beach Senior Center for a festive Chanukah party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

Holiday Gift Delivery at the
JASA/Penn South Program for Seniors
Wednesday, December 17th, 4-8pm
(This center is located in Manhattan)
Deliver some holiday cheer to seniors in need and volunteer for our 3rd annual holiday gift bag delivery. Volunteers will deliver 100 festive holiday gift bags to homebound and frail seniors living in Penn South.
Wintertime Snow Ball Party at the
JASA/Williamsburg Senior Center
Friday, December 26th, 10am-2pm
(This center is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
Join the JASA/Williamsburg Senior Center for a festive Wintertime Snow Ball party! Volunteers are needed to help set-up, serve food, mingle, clean up and enjoy the party with the seniors!

New Year’s Party at JASA/Long Beach Senior Center
Wednesday, December 31th, 9am-2pm
(This center is located in Long Beach, Long Island)
Volunteers are needed to help make this New Year’s celebration extra-special. Help with entertainment, music, raffle selling, food service, and clean-up.



To volunteer for a JASA holiday service project please email volunteer@jasa.org
or call (212) 273-5275.

UHF Conference on Volunteering Across the Generations

JASA is co-sponsoring United Hospital Fund’s annual conference on volunteerism. This year the conference is titled “Building Volunteer Communities: How to Make the Generation Gap Work for You.” The conference will address:

• Understanding the characteristics that define different generations and using information to build productive volunteer teams.
• Developing communications strategies that engage different generations of volunteers.
• Identifying new ways to work more efficiently with multi-generational teams so that you can truly build lasting volunteer communities.
• Rethinking traditional or stereotypical volunteer roles and designing programs that appeal to multiple generations.
  

Who should attend?

• Directors of volunteer services
• Hospital auxilians
• Community leaders
• Corporate volunteer and philanthropy directors
• Social service and health care administrators
• Individuals seeking innovative volunteer opportunities
• Board members and volunteers

Donna Butts of Generations United in Washington, DC will give the Keynote which will be followed by a panel discussion on best practices. Alexandra Collier, Director of Volunteer Services and Special Projects at JASA, will present in an afternoon workshop titled, “Program Development for Multiple Generations.”

The conference is sponsored by United Hospital Fun and co-sponsored by JASA, AARP, CSS/RSVP, Greater New York Association of Volunteer Administrators, Lighthouse International, New York Association for Volunteer Administration, New York Cares, and the Transition Network.

The event will be at UJA-Federation of New York on Friday, November 7, 2008, 8:30am-2:45pm. Cost is $65 per person, but there is a $10 discount if you are referred by JASA. Visit www.uhfnyc.org for more information.

JASA Participates in "Kids for Kindness" Day

JASA was invited to participate in Areyvut’s “Kids for Kindness” community service day. The August event was hosted at a private estate in Deal, NJ and gave hundreds of Middle and High School students from Magen David Yeshivah in Brooklyn the opportunity to connect with nonprofit organizations in the Metropolitan area. Assistant Director of Volunteer Services, Abby Lerner, represented JASA at the event and led students in a service activity. Participates made hundreds of centerpieces, which will be donated to several JASA Senior Centers.

Areyvut is a local organization that provides Jewish youth with opportunities to participate in social justice and community service activities.

JASA Volunteer Spotlight On...Lourdes Alfonso and Theodore Burton

Three months ago, interns Lourdes Alfonso and Theodore Burton were presented with a packet of internship opportunities. After finishing their twelve-week program run by the International Center for Disabilities, the two were ready to use the administrative and human services tools they learned and have a hands-on experience working with seniors.

Lourdes, a former recreation director for New York City Parks, was used to programming activities, and JASA Cooper Square presented her with a new challenge: programming for a building of seniors. Theodore, a former security worker, had experience helping others as well and liked that Cooper Square gave him the opportunity to work with seniors, too.

As intern-program directors at Cooper Square, Theo and Lourdes have worked with the fundraisers, Friendly Calls program, bingo, “Movie Tuesdays,” stress management classes, and special events—like the End of Summer Luau Party on September 4th. The best part about interning at Cooper Square for Theo is the positive feedback he receives from the tenants. He likes giving them something to look forward to, and seeing them out of their apartments makes him feel good about his work. As a friendly caller, Theo makes daily calls to tenants whose family is far away. “It makes me feel good, knowing he’s helping someone out by showing I care,” he says about Friendly Calls. Lourdes has enjoyed getting to know the tenants and seeing them enjoy the programs she’s worked on. Seeing someone in the elevator smile at her because they know she’s responsible for many of the programs makes her feel great.
We wish them both luck in the future and thank them for their wonderful work!

JASA Partners with Columbia and St. John's on Freshmen Community Service

JASA continues to work with area colleges to develop intergenerational volunteer programs. For the first time this summer, JASA was invited to be a site for the University’s community service orientation program for incoming freshmen. For five Tuesdays in July and August, students volunteered at Penn South Program for Seniors, West Side Senior Center, Brooklyn Senior Alliance Senior Center, Astoria Senior Center and Holliswood Senior Center. Students participated in current events discussion groups, helped with office work, planted gardens, helpedserve lunch, and much more! The experience was enriching for students and seniors alike.

JASA also participated in Columbia University’s Urban Experience orientation program for incoming freshmen in August. The program is designed to connect new students with excellent NYC nonprofit organizations and to familiarize them with diverse areas of New York City. A group of students spent a week at JASA, volunteering at the West Side Senior Center, Cooper Square Housing, and the Van Cortlandt Senior Center.

JASA will continue its strong relationship with Columbia. In September, a group of Barnard students volunteered at the JASA NextAct Open House at John Jay College.

PETS Project Receives Major Grant

JASA was pleased to learn that the PETS Project had received a grant of $40,000 from Amie’s Place Foundation to expand the PETS Project within Manhattan. The PETS Project provides volunteer and financial support to help older adult pet owners keep their animal companions for as long as possible. The grant will enable the PETS Project to serve up to 150 clients in Manhattan from Battery Park to 125th Street.

The Amie’s Place Foundation grant will help JASA to hire new staff person to support the expansion and will ensure that more seniors are able to receive the critical pet assistance they need. The new social worker will act as a liaison to seniors living throughout Manhattan and will provide overall support to the PETS program.

Support from Amie’s Place Foundation will better position JASA to provide much needed help and support to senior pet owners in Manhattan. By keeping seniors and pets together, JASA enables seniors to continue living independently in their homes and communities with dignity and autonomy.

Amie’s Place Foundation was established to fund organizations that provide programs for people who are at risk of losing their pets at times of crisis and help overcome barriers limiting access to their pets when they most need each other. In light of the profound healing effect that pets have on individuals who are going through a difficult, sometimes life-changing event, the Foundation works to provide necessary pet-care assistance and to promote public awareness of the unique bond a beloved pet and its human companion share.