Info About Assistance for Nonprofits in Queens/NYC - BoardserveNYC thru United Way of New York City

A brief video offering an insider's glimpse into the training provided to individuals and nonprofits that participate in United Way's BoardServeNYC initiative.

Every day thousands of nonprofits throughout the five boroughs make our city a better place to live and work. Whether delivering health and human services, celebrating arts and culture, promoting social justice, or protecting the environment, every nonprofit needs talented and committed volunteers to serve on its Board of Directors.

In recognition of the vital role that board members play in supporting the work of local nonprofits, United Way of New York City, in partnership with NYC Service, offers BoardServeNYC, which connects nonprofit organizations with a pool of prospective board candidates who are passionate about volunteering and are ready, willing and able to serve.

The BoardServeNYC program includes intensive governance training (for both individuals seeking to serve and nonprofits) in board roles and responsibilities, and board recruitment among other issues. Professionals from all sectors - corporations, government, universities, etc. - are encouraged to apply and attend our trainings. Participation in BoardServeNYC is free for nonprofits in all boroughs of NYC.

We seek to help nonprofits by giving them an essential tool: good governance on a strong board of directors. BoardServeNYC has made over 180 confirmed matches in only a year, and hopes to continue serving our community by offering this essential program to a growing pool of nonprofits. More information is available at www.BoardServeNYC.org.

106th Precinct Community Council - Cop of the Month - October 8th...

Cop of the Month - Sgt Maryann Connolly with Council President Frank Dardani and Commanding Officer Capt. Joseph Courtesis

106th Pct Commanding Officer Captain Courtesis praised Sgt Maryann Connolly on using her many years of service and experience in the apprehension of a man at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in Lower Manhattan...

Sgt Maryann Connolly with her family and Captain Courtesis

The man was in a car traveling on Crossbay Boulevard in Howard Beach on September 22 at approximately 4 am with 3 other men...

Council Board members Donna Gilmartin and Joy Patron

A fight had broken out in the car and an unidentified man was stabbed numerous times...

Lt. Joseph Salvato and Capt. Joseph Courtesis

He was losing an incredible amount of blood when Sgt Connolly arrived at the crime scene...

Sgt. Nugent - Community Affairs

The officer was able to obtain just the first name of the perpetrator who had fled and that he lived in Staten Island from his acquaintances at the scene...

Sgt Ken Zorn, Sgt Nugent, Frank Dardani, Donna Gilmartin and Joy Patron. Community Board 10 District Manager Karyn Petersen with back to camera.

Using this limited information and her quick judgement, Sgt Connolly figured that the "perp" would try to get home to Staten Island so she contacted the 1st Pct in downtown Manhattan with the "tip"...

Captain Joseph Courtesis

In due course the police at the ferry depot spotted a man covered with blood fitting the description and answering to the first name given by Sgt Connolly...he was promptly arrested and taken into custody...

Lt. Joseph Salvato with Queens County Assistant District Attorney Tim Regan with back to camera...

Queens Chronicle:- Travelers Aid Vols Lend Helping Hands At JFK by Jose[h Wendelken...

Read original...

Standup political satirist Arthur Winston, 73, has spent much of his retirement working the borough’s synagogue, community center and church circuit. Last Thursday morning, hours after downpours wreaked havoc on Kennedy International Airport’s arrivals and departures schedules, the Travelers Aid volunteer knew how to handle the tough crowd.

When wayward travelers pelted him with questions about the locations of AirTrain pickups, escalators and taxi stands outside of the baggage carousel in the airport’s Terminal 6, he responded with typical playfulness.


“You can rest in any room in here that you’d like,” he smilingly answered when a hurried woman, with a suitcase in tow, asked: “Is there a rest room along here?”

In a typical four-hour shift, between 30 and 50 travelers approach Winston, or one of the dozen other red blazer-wearing aids stationed throughout the airport each day, asking questions as they try to navigate one of the world’s largest transportation hubs.

For Winston, such interactions make the commitment worthwhile. “I like to fool with them, because it makes them feel good and they stop and smile,” he said.

As airlines continue cutting expenses, they are increasingly dependent on Winston, and retirees like him, to assist customers.

“Airline personnel are helpful ... but they can’t sometimes take the time as Travelers Aid does. We have the time to do the one-on-one stuff,” said volunteer Tom Motz.

Winston and Motz are among the Kennedy program’s 83 participants. Although no Travelers Aid program exists at LaGuardia Airport, the two are among the 2,600 Travelers Aid volunteers at 28 airports throughout the country. Many at Kennedy International work two four-hour shifts a week, said Jane Mrosko, the program’s director.

Of her volunteers, she said: “They feel good helping someone, and the gratification is usually instant. Whoever asks the question and gets the answer usually says ‘Thank you so much,’ or there’s some kind of positive exchange.”

Although some teenagers and men and women in their 20s give their time each week, Mrosko said that most volunteers are senior citizens. For them, donning the program’s blazer and informing people brings a sense of pride and accomplishment.

“When I can help someone, when I clarify a situation, that’s nice,” said volunteer Mildred Jervis, a retiree now in her fifth year with Travelers Aid.

Jervis interviewed for a volunteer position five years ago but almost quit soon after her acceptance because of her poor hearing. But she soon grew more comfortable at her station after slowing down and leaning toward travelers when listening to their questions. Although the pace at the airport picks up during the holiday season and over the summer, Jervis says: “I love it. It doesn’t stress me out. I’m retired. I have nothing but time on my hands.”

While many program volunteers, like Jervis, live in Jamaica, others live in other communities throughout the borough, such as Rockaway, Jackson Heights, Whitestone and Fresh Meadows. Still more live in Howard Beach, where residents regularly complain about the noise and air pollution from airplanes overhead.

Lorraine Durst, a Travelers Aid volunteer from Howard Beach, said that just because the airport creates quality-of-life issues does not make its travelers any less deserving of her help. “The airport is a necessary part of our existence. You need to come and go, this is the way to do it,” she said. “You’re helping people and meeting people and knowing that you’re instrumental in making things easier for them,” Durst added.

Often making things easier for travelers entails more than simply pointing them in the direction of the nearest escalator or rest room. Motz, who will begin training to counsel recovering drug and alcohol abusers soon, recalled an instance in his year with Travelers Aid when he helped a woman track down her brother who was supposed to pick her up after she touched down from London. Unbeknownst to the woman, her brother collapsed earlier that day and was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan.

Mrosko said that sometimes penniless women from the Dominican Republic or Puetro Rico come to Travelers Aid desks at Kennedy after fleeing abusive spouses in their countries. Mrosko tries to make such women feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible until the authorities to whom she refers them can step in. “That’s what Travelers Aid has always been about — helping distressed travelers,” she said.

©Queens Chronicle 2007