April 23, 2015

On Sunday, 218 generous New Yorkers gathered at Michael Jordan's The Steak House N.Y.C. to be recognized for their service at our annual volunteer party. Each year, Citymeals honors the thousands of individuals who volunteer their time to help us provide meals and companionship to our homebound elderly neighbors.

Last year nearly 19,000 volunteers provided over 67,000 hours of service to Citymeals. From delivering meals to visiting with isolated meal recipients, Citymeals volunteers are dedicated to improving the lives of New York’s most vulnerable population.

Citymeals volunteer opportunities include:

• Meal Deliveries: Delivering meals on foot within walking distance from local senior centers.
• Senior Chat: Contacting our isolated elderly over the phone to “visit” in a weekly call.
• Senior Script: Responding to mail from our meal recipients with warm personalized letters.
• Handmade Cards: Crafting handmade cards to deliver on holidays, birthdays and special occasions.
• Friendly Visiting: Pairing kindhearted individuals with homebound neighbors in need of company.
• Kitchen Helpers: Packaging and serving meals at local senior centers.

Among those who were honored at the event were Kathy James (meal delivery and senior script volunteer), Vivienne Papadatos (handmade card and senior script volunteer), Candy Martinez of Disney VoluntEARS (meal delivery volunteers), Rolanda Pyle (senior chat and senior script volunteer), Felice Seltzer (meal delivery and kitchen helper volunteer), and Janelyne Devoe (meal delivery volunteer), who have each been volunteering with Citymeals for 10 or more years.

Citymeals Director of Volunteer Programs Vivienne O’Neill commented, "This party is our way of saying thank you for everything our volunteers help us accomplish during the year. Our work would not be possible without the support of the thousands of kindhearted New Yorkers who volunteer with us. They are some of the most devoted and compassionate people in the city, not only delivering meals but also providing much-needed comfort to their homebound elderly neighbors. Special thanks also go to Michael Jordan's The Steak House N.Y.C. for hosting this year’s event."