New York Cares is calling all Queens’ residents with a green thumb, remarkable painting skills or just a love of community to volunteer to participate in the 16th Annual Hands on New York Day.
This citywide spring event is run by New York Cares – the city’s largest volunteer organization – and is sponsored by HSBC Bank USA, NA. This day of greening is held to coincide with National Volunteer Week.
Last spring, the group’s volunteers worked in 14 neighborhood locations in Queens, including Forest Park, where 200 volunteers planted 500 trees and removed debris to restore a 1/8 mile stretch of parkland leading from the central picnic area to Myrtle Avenue. In support of MillionTreesNYC, an astonishing 1,200 trees were planted at Idlewild Park.
“This year, we expect to be in a similar number of locations in Queens,” said Colleen Farrell, senior director, marketing and communications for New York Cares. “We will be in approximately 75 locations citywide, with 14 or so in Queens.”
The event, taking place on Saturday, April 24, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., welcomes any volunteer over the age of 12. Volunteers aged 12 to 17 must be accompanied by an adult at all times. Youth Teams must be high school students aged 14 years and older and must be accompanied by an adult chaperone.
New Yorkers can register to volunteer at www.handsonnewyorkday.org, with a registration fee of $20 per person. If all volunteers raise $150 in honor of their service, New York Cares could provide $4.5 million in service projects this year.
For this year’s event, thousands of volunteers are needed to revitalize approximately 75 parks, gardens, playgrounds, community centers and schools across the five boroughs. Volunteers will work on a variety of green projects including gardening, removing winter debris, painting and more.
The money raised for Hands On New York Day will create 11,000 volunteer projects serving 400,000 New Yorkers in need this year. Every dollar donated to New York Cares amounts to $6 in service to the community.
