The De Blasio Administration Recognizes New York City's Top Volunteers Serving Their Communities

April 23, 2019

The Mayoral Service Recognition Ceremony at Carnegie Hall celebrates New Yorkers who volunteer for diverse causes in their neighborhoods and promote civic engagement

NEW YORK—NYC Chief Service Officer Patricia Eng and Chief of Staff to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Emma Wolfe, today marked the end of National Volunteer Month with the Fifth Annual Mayoral Service Recognition Ceremony at Carnegie Hall. The event shined a light on over 200 New Yorkers who volunteered more than 1,000 hours to serve their neighborhoods and over two dozen businesses that engaged at least 20 percent of their New York City-based employees as volunteers in 2018.

NYC Service’s Mayoral Service Recognition Program more broadly recognizes New Yorkers who engage in at least 100 hours of volunteer service a year. In 2018, nearly 4,000 residents each contributed over 100 hours of volunteer service to diverse causes, from mentoring high school youth to serving on community boards in their neighborhoods to getting New Yorkers registered to vote.

“Volunteers are the heart of this City, making an impact in their neighborhoods and engaging others around them on key issues because they care about the future of New York City,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “To the over one million New Yorkers who were active in their communities this past year: We see you and salute you. Thank you for inspiring all of us to be better every day.”

“When we invest our time, talent, and skills in our neighborhoods, they flourish, and together we build a stronger and more civically engaged City,” said NYC Chief Service Officer Patricia Eng. “NYC Service is so proud to unite the City’s top volunteers through service and thank them for helping ensure our communities continue to reflect our City’s strong values. I hope their stories and impact inspire others to find opportunities to serve.”

“New Yorkers understand the power of volunteerism and its ability to effect real change,” said Emma Wolfe, Chief of Staff to Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I want to thank every volunteer for investing energy into the wellbeing of their community and demonstrating true civic leadership.”

Business that engaged at least 20 percent of NYC-based employees in volunteer service:

NYC Service is also releasing its 2018 NYC Volunteers Count report, an annual volunteer inventory highlighting the impact of more than 1 million volunteers serving with over 400 organizations across the five boroughs including faith-based institutions, schools, hospitals, and nearly 70 percent of those volunteers serving within neighborhood-based organizations.

“I have been a volunteer with Project Hospitality, on Staten Island, for the past two years,” said Darrel Astwood, Kitchen and Respite Bed Program Volunteer at Project Hospitality. “I was once homeless. I came to Project Hospitality and through counseling, enrolled into a short- to long-term recovery and treatment program. I felt the need to give back to the community that helped me regain my self-esteem through daily volunteer work and peer support.”

“Project Hospitality, founded as a volunteer interfaith effort in 1982, depends deeply on the generous commitment of more than a thousand volunteers from the Staten Island community (and several hundred more who come to NYC to serve with us) to enable our church shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, mobile markets, child care, after-school enrichment, and community meal programs to serve 26,000 hungry and 1,000 homeless Staten Islanders each year,” said Reverend Terry Troia, President & CEO of Project Hospitality.  “We are humbled to know that the volunteer with the most hours of service in all of New York City is Staten Islander Darrell Astwood.  We applaud him for his extraordinary service to the poor. May God bless him and all who serve generously and love lavishly as God Loves us.”

“Our story is….likely yours too,” said Linda Ifabanwo, Manager of Human Resources at Digitas. “Corporate social responsibility is integral to the success of Digitas. We believe that we have a responsibility to make a difference in the world in which we work as well as respecting our place in the environment, and understanding and improving our impact on it. And we do this, through our driven initiatives by: volunteering, training and skills, quality and education, community service, mentoring and coaching, and more. We are so privileged to be recognized by the Mayoral Service Recognition Program that further emphasizes our community efforts and continues to encourage our employees to play an active role in enhancing their communities.”

“For over a century, our company has been deeply committed to making a difference in the lives of others and we’re proud to share that legacy of service today in New York City and across the country,” said Mark Elliot, Chief Marketing Officer at TIAA. “Over the course of 2018, our associates helped positively impact over 1 million people by revitalizing community spaces, serving meals to those in need and volunteering their time in countless ways. We’re honored to be recognized by Mayor de Blasio and look forward to continuing our tradition of giving back in 2019.”

Additionally, almost half of the over 1 million volunteers were public school students who participated in community service and service-learning during the 2017-2018 school year through the Service in Schools program, a Department of Education and NYC Service partnership.

About NYC Service

NYC Service, a division of the Office of the Mayor, promotes volunteerism, engages New Yorkers in service, builds volunteer capacity, and mobilizes the power of volunteers and national service members to impact New York City's greatest needs. To learn more about NYC Service and connect to volunteer opportunities across New York City, visit nyc.gov/service.