TD Bank Helps Keep Seniors Safe

The Chore Service, which is sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, has a new van on the road, thanks to a $25,000 donation from TD Bank.

The Chore Service provides crews of dedicated volunteers who perform minor household repairs that keep seniors and people with disabilities safe in their own homes, thereby avoiding costly and often unwanted institutionalization. Chore has had two vans on the road for several years; the third van, purchased and outfitted with tools courtesy of TD Bank, allows the program to serve more seniors.

Thanks, TD Bank!

For more information on Chore check out our website.

Weather can't stop the BVC

The weather was dreadful the night that the Business Volunteer Council (BVC) of Northern New Jersey held its annual Night at the Races at the Meadowlands Racetrack. The bright spot was the last minute decision to move the party indoors, and the result was 200+ happy party-goers.

Guests enjoyed plenty of good food and drink as they picked their ponies and perused a silent auction, which featured such great prizes as local restaurant gift cards, Devil’s hockey tickets, and an “Adult Sleepover” package which included a bottle of wine and hotel room at the Woodcliff Lake Hilton.

When the night ended, the event chalked up more than $15,000 to support the BVC’s initiative that help low income children and families. Guests were asked to bring disposable diapers and wipes, which were donated to the Baby Basic Program at Children’s Aid and Family Services in Paramus. More than $1,100 worth of baby supplies were donated!

The night was a lot of fun and a great success.

Shopping for a Cause

While shopping online this holiday season, you can help the Volunteer Center with every purchase. Through igive.com, a percentage of every purchase you make will go to the Volunteer Center, or another charity of your choice. There are over 600 stores to shop from, including favorites like Target, Barnes & Noble, Gap and much more. Just go to igive.com and enter "Volunteer Center of Bergen County" in the cause keyword search. It only takes a minute to register and $5 will be donated to the Volunteer Center right off the bat if you sign up and shop within 45 days. Please follow the directions on the iGive website to learn more about how you can help.

Facing Prolonged Economic Challenges: A Roundtable for Nonprofit CEOs

The Volunteer Center will host an Executive Directors’ Roundtable on Thursday, November 12, from 9-11:00 am. Executive Directors, CEOs and trustees of non-profit organizations are invited to discuss strategies that maintain organizational integrity in the face of prolonged challenges to fiscal stability, planning for an uncertain future, and other topics of current concern. Ken Berger, CEO of Charity Navigator, will add his perspective as a leader of a national nonprofit organization which has its operational offices in Bergen County. The Roundtable will be held at the Volunteer Center office, 64 Passaic Street, Hackensack.

There is no fee to attend the Executive Directors’ Roundtable, but pre-registration is required. The deadline for registration is November 6th. For more information or to register, e-mail training@bergenvolunteers.org, or call (201) 489-9454, ext.114.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

The holidays are fast approaching, and the Volunteer Center's annual All Wrapped Up holiday giving program is in full swing! We've been gathering information since August about people in need and determining their holiday "wish list" requests. On Monday, November 2, we'll begin matching requests with volunteer donors from the community who are willing to fulfill these wishes, bringing some holiday cheer to those who need it the most. In many cases, the requests are for very basic items, such as winter coats, warm sweaters, slippers, etc. or books or toys for children, which may be the only gifts they receive. Gift cards for supermarkets and discount department stores are on everyone's list, too.

Individuals, families, civic groups, corporations and business associations are encouraged to "adopt" an individual or a family in need. Click here for detailed information, including a simple form that you can complete and submit online. Soon after, you will be contacted with information about the individual or family you have "adopted" for the holidays. You can also call us at 201-489-9454, ext. 118 (Debbie Emery).

Times are tough, so please do whatever you can to help our neighbor’s right here in Bergen County have a happier holiday!

Service Learning - where community and education intersect

The Volunteer Center of Bergen County is sponsoring the 3rd Annual Service Learning Conference on Friday, November 13, at Bergen Community College (BCC). Service-learning is a method of teaching and learning that combines academic work with service to the community. Students learn by doing, through a clear application of skills and knowledge, while helping to meet needs in the school and community. A national study of Learn and Serve America programs suggests that effective service learning programs improve grades, increase attendance in school and develop students’ personal and social responsibility.

School administrators, teachers, service advisors, leaders of community and faith-based organizations and students are encouraged to attend. The conference will run from 8:30 am - 12 noon in the TEC Center at BCC. Please click here to view the event brochure. For information, contact Debbie Emery at 201-489-9454, ext. 118 or demery@bergenvolunteers.org.

The Power of Volunteers

The Volunteer Center's executive Director, Janet Sharma, was recently honored by the Urban League Guild for Bergen County. Following are her remarks presented at the awards luncheon:

Thank you very much for this award. I am truly honored. I have
always appreciated the Urban League and its commitment to community, and I deeply value your good work – across the country and here in Englewood.

I’ve got to tell you that I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenure as Executive Director of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County and one of the reasons is that I get to work in partnership with the Urban League and with the other organizations that are being honored here today.

My organization focuses on the power of volunteers to make the world a better place. I have always believed that volunteering is a key component of social justice, because volunteering brings people together.

When I was little, I got my first volunteer experience helping my mother distribute
materials for the Cancer Society. Remember those 7 danger signs? Well I lived with those materials so long that I was sure that I had them all. The cough that
wouldn’t stop, sore that wouldn’t heal, the mole that kept getting bigger.

That experience has lived with me all these years and I think it’s important, because a key feature of volunteering is empathy. I really believed that I was dying, and I know how scared I was. That hasn’t left me, nor has the sense of empathy, of sensing
what others are feeling. Not only the pain of the sick or the despair of the homeless, but the gladness in the eyes of a lonely senior when someone brings them a meal or gives them a friendly call, or the pride that someone – a child or an adult – feels when a volunteer helps them grasp the concept of reading; or the thrill when a mentor takes a child to the zoo and they see an elephant up close and personal for the very first time; or the fervor of someone who stands up for the underdog -- or for their own rights -- and extends their passion to others.

These are the kinds of things that make up my day, and every single day brings joy as well as heartache because every day is full of the full range of humanity.

At a recent forum with President George H.W. Bush (#41), President Obama commented on the importance of service, and I want to pass along his words:

"Service isn't separate from our national priorities or secondary to our national priorities - it's integral to achieving our national priorities. It's how we will meet the challenges of our time...

That's always been the story of this nation--the story of those who stepped forward in our darkest hours to serve it. Those who rose to answer the defining questions of their time: Colony or country? Free or half free? Separate but equal, or truly equal?

Those folks weren't in it for the money. Those folks were volunteers. Their
service wasn't "extra." It was the work that changed this country."

Thank you very much for this award. I am honored to be among you today.