volunteer

Before I joined the staff at Hope for New York, I was a volunteer. I signed up to serve breakfast on Mondays at St. Paul’s House, a food pantry and soup kitchen in Hell’s Kitchen.

For over 12 years, the Rescue Alliance has been able to positively impact the lives of our friends on the street and provide them opportunities for change. In February 2020, we saw our most successful outreach in history, but this year, our annual winter outreach changed to Pandemic Don't Walk By.

Our incredible virtual volunteers are still finding ways to connect with the isolated Isaiah 58 residents, who are immunocompromised because of HIV/AIDs. 

In addition to Stories of Hope from His Toy Store Reimagined events, here are more stories from our affiliates about how Christmas cheer is being shared in their communities!

We asked young mom Bethany Barnes to share and expand on her experience volunteering at Expect Hope.

Recently, I received an email from my alma mater that included these words: “We would love to hear from you! [We] will be producing a digital magazine which includes information about our alumni. The Class Notes section will include..."

Hope for New York volunteers are used to getting proximate in person with our affiliates, and the communities they serve. But when everything changed during COVID-19, our volunteers found new ways to serve! 

When the coronavirus hit, we were concerned that we would have to shut down our Wednesday Night Meal program. But God provided a way for us to continue offering meals throughout the pandemic.

My wife, Celine, and I first served our city through Hope for New York eight years ago, when we volunteered with All Angels’ Church with our Community Group. Together, we committed to serving with All Angels’ on Sunday evenings once a month. This was an incredible experience for us to not only serve the Upper West Side neighborhood but also come together as a community.

While New York City was "on pause," some of our volunteers have made connections by reaching out to isolated and immunocompromised residents at two HFNY affiliates. Volunteers of all ages got creative when writing letters and making art to send to Upper East Side Rehabilitation Nursing Center and Isaiah 58.