Site Visit to New York Cares (Register by 3/31)

Are you interested in interning or working for a non-profit organization?  Ever wonder what it might be like to work for New York Cares, an organization that prides itself on a culture of excellence, defined by integrity, reliability and professionalism?

Join Columbia University's Center for Career Education (CCE) and meet three professionals who can share what it's like to work at New York Cares on a daily basis.  We will also be reviewing New York Cares' internship program and touring the office. 

A little more about New York Cares:  They have been the 2009 Winner of the New York Times Company Non-profit Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding management practices, and have been recognized as a top-notch employer by The Non-Profit Times ("Best Non-Profit Organizations To Work For," April 2010), Crain's New York ("Best Places to Work in New York City," November 2008), the Princeton Review ("Best Entry-Level Jobs," multiple years), and The Wall Street Journal ("Top Small Workplaces," 2007).

New York Cares website:   http://www.newyorkcares.org/about_us/our_story/index.php

Panelists include:

Jaime Denniston-Merced has been a New York Cares volunteer and staff member since February of 2007. In her position as Volunteer Relations Manager, Jaime worked to ensure that New York Cares volunteers were well managed and created and implemented an effective volunteer recruitment, recognition, retention and activation strategy.  Currently, she works as Leadership Development Officer, managing all aspects of the Team Leader program with New York Cares, including recruitment, training and enrichment of Team Leaders. Previous to her position at New York Cares, Jaime worked as Program Specialist at The Girl Scout Council of Greater New York for 5 years, overseeing programming in Southern Brooklyn and all programming for high school aged girls.

Ms. Denniston-Merced holds a B.A. in the Sociology of Volunteerism from The City University of New York; a degree uniquely created by her through the CUNY B.A. program, and is certified in Volunteer Administration (CVA), a professional credential in volunteer resources management.

Samara Berger joined New York Cares in July 2009 as part of NYC Civic Corps, which falls under the AmeriCorps umbrella. As a Civic Corps member, she worked in New York Cares' Annual Events department to help plan our large-scale events like the Coat Drive, New York Cares Day, and Winter Wishes program.  She is currently a manager of Custom Service Events, and helps to plan custom service projects for sponsors of New York Cares. Samara majored in Political Science and Spanish at Drew University.

Andrew Perricone-Dazzo has been with New York Cares since 2008. He is currently an Education Programs Officer. His position includes managing a tax program, which trains volunteers to help low-income New Yorkers file their taxes for free. Last year, the volunteers completed over 10,000 tax returns to help put $18.7 million dollars in refunds into the community. Andrew is also responsible for managing New York Cares' adult computer and financial literacy tutorials. Prior to joining New York Cares Andrew served as an AmeriCorps VISTA for a year at The Fifth Avenue Committee in Brooklyn, a nonprofit focused on providing affordable housing. Andrew received a BA in International Relations from SUNY New Paltz.

To RSVP for this event, please e-mail Valerie Chow, Program Director, Internship Program/Civic Engagement, at vchow@barnard.edu with the subject line "Site Visit to New York Cares" before 11:59PM on Thursday, March 31st.  Please include the following information in the body of your e-mail:  your full name, school, class year, contact e-mail, and phone number.  Registration will be filled on a first come, first served basis.