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Met Council and Ahava Partner to Create Well-Being Inside and Out
Met Council recently formed an exciting partnership with Ahava cosmetics, allowing online shoppers to simultaneously pamper their skin and help families in need. Fifteen percent of purchase proceeds from www.ahavaus.com (with special promo code) during December 2011 benefited the Met Council Food for Life Campaign, ultimately raising the maximum amount of $5,000. The Food for Life Campaign is part of an initiative to ensure that Met Council can meet the growing needs of all who are hungry. The campaign has raised over three million dollars and is still going strong with a goal of five million. “We wanted to partner with a local charity organization for the holidays, and we were so happy to come across Met Council.” said Ahava Director of Ecommerce of Social Media Abby Whitmer. “We are definitely always looking for partners and this has worked out really well.” The Food for Life campaign supports the expansion of Met Council’s existing food distribution programs, kosher food pantry, food vouchers, and weekend and holiday meals for the homebound elderly, and the operation of three free community kosher restaurants. Photo: Ahava Director of Ecommerce of Social Media Abby Whitmer presents a $5,000 check to Met Council CEO William E. Rapfogel. |
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Met Council Continues to Make Headlines in the New York Times Neediest Campaign Michael's Story: Brooklyn resident Michael Mercado, 20, is battling a complicated case of widely metastatic testicular germ cell cancer. After treatment began, cancer in his lungs and brain were discovered. Since the diagnosis he has since been through five operations at Sloan Kettering, along with radiation and chemotherapy. His prognosis remains optimistic, but he must constantly undergo testing and treatments. Michael’s father passed away in 2009. His mother suffered many medical ailments and underwent an extensive operation in November 2010. She became comatose and remained hospitalized for two weeks before passing away in May 2011. “It was one bad thing after another,” Michael said. “It was painful, but I had to keep going.” Michael graduated high school in 2011 and now attends Lincoln Technical Institute in Queens for auto mechanic studies. With his cancer in remission, he is attempting to build a future for himself but does not have a way to pay his rent and every day expenses. His 15-year-old dog named Munchkin is the only family he has in his life. Michael’s goal is to graduate school and become a mechanic, repairing cars just like his father. See Michael’s full story featured in the January 14, 2012 edition of the New York Times.
Dmitriy must wear custom molded shoes because polio has severely distorted his feet. Without these shoes, the pain in his legs is too much to bear and he is unable to walk. Unfortunately, Medicaid only covers the cost of these $600 shoes for people with diabetes. Due to medical expenses and the need for Dmitriy’s specialized care, he and his wife live on an extremely fixed income. In a financial bind, they began to seek help. In June 2011, Dmitriy was referred to Met Council’s Midwood Single Stop site. He met with Site Director Nathan Krasnovsky who immediately set out to help Dmitriy walk comfortably. Met Council Crisis Services was able to give $595 to Dmitriy so that he could purchase his medical shoes, allowing him to live a less painful life. However, Dmitriy will need to replace his medical shoes annually. He is striving, with the help of Met Council, to get regain self-sufficiency and remain in his Brooklyn home. He is anxious about what the future holds and how he will continue to cope physically, emotionally, and financially with polio. “I was helped many times, and I have to help other people,” Dmitriy said. “That’s how God teaches.” |
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Verizon Helps Met Council Aid Victims of Family Violence with a $100,000 Grant The Verizon Grant gives the Family Violence Department the capacity to maintain the broad range of services we offer our clients,” said Shana Frydman, LCSW, Director of Met Council’s Family Violence Department. “We thank Verizon profusely for helping us during this difficult economic time. The generosity of organizations like Verizon allow Met Council to continue providing a large number of domestic violence victims with comprehensive social, legal, and community advocacy services to help them obtain safety and lasting self-sufficiency. Grant funds will be used for the salary of a full time bilingual social working, case worker/legal liaison, legal fees for clients, and critical continued education for department staff. In 2010, Met Council received a grant from the Verizon Foundation that funded a social worker and legal fees for victims of domestic violence. This grant allowed the Family Violence Department to serve an additional 150 individuals over the one year grant period, ultimately enabling Met Council to serve a total of 700 individuals affected by domestic violence over the course of the grant. Met Council is able to bridge the gap between immigrant cultures and social services. With this grant, we will be able to fund a Hebrew and German speaking staff member. This is key for new immigrants who don’t necessarily know their rights here and we are grateful to help these vulnerable individuals access services with comfort and dignity,” added Frydman. |
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150 Volunteers Commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by Aiding Poverty Across New York City “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s commitment to serving others, 150 Met Council volunteers rolled up their sleeves to aid poverty across New York City on January 16, 2012 during an annual day of service. This MLK Day, Met Council, in conjunction with the New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) the Food Bank for New York City, held a city-wide distribution campaign to fight hunger. Volunteers traveled to underserved neighborhoods across Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn to distribute critical information about public benefits and engage in conversations with New Yorkers about the importance of applying for benefits such as Food Stamps and Medicaid. This Hunger Free Community hands-on service project allowed volunteers to make an immediate impact for local individuals in families that are struggling by distributing more than 20,000 pieces of informative literature. Each year, MLK Day encourages people across the country to come together to serve their neighbors and communities. Those loyal to Met Council’s mission find it especially rewarding to work on this day of service. “Having the extra man power and enthusiasm of volunteers, especially in the numbers that come out for MLK Day, allows Met Council to complete tasks in a quarter of the time than if it was just staff alone,“ says Met Council Volunteer Department Manager, Stefanie Greenberg. “Each year on this special day, we are able to make a strong impact on poverty in our very own neighborhoods.” How to Volunteer: contact Volunteer Services at 212-453-9508 or volunteer@metcouncil.org. |
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