On an overcast Saturday in April, members and friends of the Rockefeller community participated with 5,000 other volunteers in Hands on New York (HONY) Day. The purpose of HONY is to revitalize the city while raising awareness and funds for New York Cares, the largest volunteer organization in NYC, which “meets pressing community needs by mobilizing caring New Yorkers in volunteer service.”

Hands On New York Day Marcus Garvey Park. Photo provided by the author.

At Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, we picked up glass and trash and swept the sidewalks. We also had the opportunity to speak with other volunteers who hailed from a number of organizations, universities, and businesses around NYC, sharing in this wonderful day of service. Although we had to end our day early due to inclement weather, we had a fun time making the park a little cleaner and raising funds for New York Cares.

In May we volunteered at Carl Schurz Park near Gracie Mansion on 86th Street and East End Avenue. Our main task was to dig a trough for a big log, a remnant from a tree that had been cut down recently. While the job was simple in concept, it was rather difficult in practice, primarily because tree roots and concrete slowed down our digging. In the end, though, we prevailed: we dug the trough and then gingerly rolled the log into it, making a nice area for a future garden. The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy treated us to clam chowder for lunch, and we finished the day picking weeds. As the park has open volunteer days once a month, we plan to go again in the future.

If you are interested in volunteering at Carl Schurz Park—or volunteering in general—please come to the volunteer group’s open meeting in July, when we will plan activities for the rest of the summer and the fall.
For additional information, please see:

http://www.nycares.org/volunteer/service_days/honyd/index.php
http://www.newyorkcares.org/
http://www.carlschurzparknyc.org/index2.html

Before: Trough dug; log not in trough. Photo provided by the author.

After: Log in trough. Mission Accomplished! Photo provided by the author