Contributing time, money, or supplies to a cause that helps others not only gives back to the Chelsea community but also makes you feel great! Here is an inside look at a few ways you can help support your neighbors.
Muddy Paws
Muddy Paws Rescue is a nonprofit organization that helps create better lives for dogs through foster-based care, advocacy, and community outreach. By cultivating a strong and loving community, they provide educational resources, tools, and guidance to improve the quality of life of dogs and their humans.
They live by their four core values:
- Positive: Assume goodwill, foster trust, and collaboration and maintain an uplifting and optimistic tone.
- Welcoming: Embrace not only new community members but also new ideas, feedback, and diversity of perspectives.
- Responsive: Respond quickly to the needs of our dogs and the community and actively adjust operations appropriately.
- Supportive: Commit to offering exceptional support to our staff, adopters, foster parents, and volunteers through every step of their respective journeys.
How to get involved
Adopt: Adopting is a great way to help the organization and get a lifelong companion in the process. Dogs range in age, size, breed, and temperament, so you will always be able to find the best match for your current situation.
To adopt, visit the Muddy Paws website, read through the FAQs, fill out an application and schedule a call with an adoption ambassador. You can find out more about the adoption process here.
Foster: If you can’t commit to adoption, fostering is another excellent way of giving these pups a second chance at an incredible life. The organization relies on foster parents since they don’t have a physical shelter in which to house the dogs before moving on to their forever homes.
Each prospective foster parent must apply and, after approval, undergo an orientation where they will learn the basics of fostering, be given basic supplies, and get matched with a foster buddy for support. Each foster experience lasts about two weeks, and the organization also offers specialized in-person classes to help you on your journey. You can find out more information and apply to become a foster parent here.
Donate: Donations help the organization immensely, and there are multiple ways to give. You can become an MVP, which will sign you up for a monthly donation, or you can choose to make a one-time donation. You can also help by creating a personal fundraiser to raise money, giving a gift through your will, trust, or another financial plan, through a corporate partnership, by sponsoring a rescue, choosing Muddy Paws as your beneficiary on Amazon Smile, or donating items from their Amazon wish list.
No matter what way you decide to donate, everything helps. If you would like to donate, you can do so here.
Volunteer: Last but certainly not least, you can choose to become a volunteer. Volunteer opportunities are for events, remote or behind the scenes. Ways to volunteer include becoming a driver to help transport the dogs, working on the marketing team, working an adoption event, working on the design and video team, working on the website or with technological projects, or helping out with fundraising. If you want to become a volunteer, you can get more information here.
New York Cares
New York Cares was born in 1987 when a group of friends became frustrated with finding volunteering opportunities. Rather than continue the slow process of calling around and trying to find ways to volunteer, they created a hub for recruiting, training and placing volunteers. Today, New York Cares works with over 1,100 nonprofits, schools, and government agencies around New York City. By taking a flexible approach to volunteering, they also evolve to keep up with the city’s changing needs.
How to get involved:
Volunteer: Through volunteering, you have the opportunity to work in many fields doing various tasks. Whether it’s being a team leader, working with a company, helping kids get into college, providing free tax preparation, making calls to support New Yorkers, and more, there is no shortage of opportunities.
Once you’re a volunteer, you can look through the lists of projects on their website, find one that interests you and sign up — it’s that easy. The organization will tell you when and where to arrive, and the project leader will direct you. To become a volunteer, you will need to register on their website, create a profile and complete a short, self-guided digital orientation. You can start by creating your account here.
Donate: Donating helps support all the different organizations that New York Cares works with and to recruiting and trains all their volunteers. Donations can be made in traditional payment options or through ApplePay, PayPal, or cryptocurrency.
Besides regular monetary donations, there are a variety of ways to donate, including having your employer match your donation, having your company support the organization, hosting a live stream, hosting a virtual fundraiser, making a stock transfer or setting up a payroll deduction or a bequest as a long term contribution. If you’re interested in donating, you can do so here.
Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders brings medical aid anywhere in the world that needs it most, remaining independent, neutral, and impartial. The organization was initially founded in 1971 and has since saved lives and treated tens of millions of people worldwide. They display transparency and accountability when raising and spending the money they need to help keep their mission alive.
How to get involved
Donate: There are multiple ways to donate that all help in big ways. You can make a one-time or monthly cash donation through your credit card, bank account, or PayPal. You can also choose to send your donation as a gift on behalf of a company or an organization. These donations can be made online or mailed in. No matter how much you can donate, everything helps go toward resources and supplies that save lives, from malaria treatment for children to clean water for refugee families.
You can set up a donor-advised funds donation through your financial institution or a community foundation — find out if your institution is on the list here. You can also donate a stock or mutual fund; click here to find out more information on donating this way. You can make an IRA-qualified charitable distribution here. You can also choose to send a gift to one of their locations all over the globe. The list of addresses from all 21 countries can be found here.
Hold a Fundraiser: Fundraisers can be held in a multitude of ways, from sporting events, having others donate in the name of a special event such as a birthday or wedding, teaming up with the company to raise money through streaming, or holding a fundraiser at your place of work or in your community. Fundraising not only is a great way to raise a substantial amount of money, but it also helps bring more awareness to the cause. Find out how to create a fundraiser here.
Visions
Visions is an organization that creates services for the blind and visually impaired. Their mission is for “everyone to see what is possible” by providing in-home rehabilitation services for the newly visually impaired to help them through the challenges and struggles that come with losing their vision. They also help place youth and adults in jobs that they can work despite their loss of sight, direct resources to unpaid caregivers, and provide community and senior centers that offer programs and training.
How to get involved
Credit: Perkins School for the Blind
Volunteer: Volunteers of all ages are welcome, whether you are a high school student, adult, or corporation. Tasks associated with volunteering range from reading mail and other written material, escorting clients on their errands and to appointments, and helping with various programs. You can feel good that even the most minor task you accomplish will make a drastic difference in another person’s life. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, you can find applications here.
Advisory Boards: Joining an advisory board gives you the responsibility of representing Visions at community events and soliciting contributors for annual fundraising events. You will be reaching out through organizations, businesses, and personal relationships to increase awareness about what Visions does for the community. You can find more information on how to join an advisory board here.
Board of Directors: Visions is always looking for people with experience in marketing, public relations, advertising, risk management, special events, ophthalmology, optometry, corporate giving, fundraising, accounting, and employment law to join their board of directors. Those on the board are expected to have three years of staggered terms in office, attend five board meetings annually and assist in various duties. To find out more information on how to join, click here.
Become a Sponsor: Sponsoring an event can help raise funds and get the word out about Visions and what they do for the community. You can sponsor a bingo tournament or an ice cream social, assist with serving meals to the seniors in the program or host a resume and interview workshop for adults and youth alike. To find out how to become a sponsor, click here.
Donate: Donations help keep the programs going, providing food and training volunteers. You can donate online or through the mail and either allow Visions to use the money as they see fit or determine exactly where your money will go. You can donate through their website here.
Whichever organization you choose, supporting a nonprofit is a great way to give back to your community and those in need. If you’re interested in Chelsea real estate or properties throughout Manhattan, contact Caryl Berenato and set up an appointment today!
