volunteer opportunities

TTN LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY IMPACT

Our Community Volunteer Committee helps others by collaborating with various non-profit organizations on Long Island. It provides women the opportunity to make a positive difference in our communities. At the same time, we get to meet new women and work together in meaningful ways.

Everyone is welcome to attend our meetings and join our efforts.
Watch for our eblasts announcing meetings, collections, and volunteer activities.
If you are particularly interested in one of our collaborative relationships, please contact the name listed to learn more about how we help.

BOOK FAIRIES

Can you imagine never having a book to call your own? Right here on Long Island countless children do not own a single book and countless public facilities like schools, shelters, and prisons do not have adequate books for their population. The Book Fairies, located in Freeport, collects reading materials from people, schools and businesses and then re-distributes them where needed throughout New York to foster literacy and academic success, provide a respite from personal struggles and nurture a love of reading across all ages. TTN Volunteers donate books/run book drives, help at School and Warehouse Book Fairs, participate in the Dr. Seuss Reading Across America program and other events. For further information or any questions about this agency, please contact Linda Sotomayor at lindasoto@verizon.net

CARE TO KNIT (TTN Stitchers)

We are knitters and crocheters of varying skill levels who make hats, scarves, afghans, lap blankets, etc. We donate our items to Care To Knit. They, in turn, distribute these items as needed to LI shelters, hospitals, etc. and special programs such as SEAN'S GIFT blanket program, THINK PINK for breast cancer patients, WOMEN HEART for heart patients, and the BROOKE JACKMAN FOUNDATION. We meet the 3rd Wednesday afternoon of each month which is when we collect the finished items, share ideas, and put together afghans. For more information, please contact Suzanne Sham at suestan@verizon.net.

CATHOLIC CHARITIES

Catholic Charities Immigrant Services provides aid for tens of thousands of immigrants and unaccompanied minors in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. This program provides for immigrants needing help with learning English, self-sufficiency skills, high school equivalency studies, cultural integration and more. TTN volunteers provide mentoring for at risk youth (ages 13-18), data entry and filing, and presenting one-hour enrichment classes. Spanish is a plus but not a requirement. Prospective volunteers will be asked to fill out a diocese application and attend an abuse training class. For further information please contact Jeanine Briefel at jeaninebriefel@gmail.com.

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION SERVICES (CAPS)

CAPS/Bully Prevention Center (Child Abuse Prevention Services) is dedicated to the prevention of bullying, cyber-bullying, child abuse and neglect, and the only volunteer organization that works directly with children and youth in New York’s Nassau and Suffolk elementary, middle and high schools. It is Long Island’s expert resource on bullying/cyber-bullying, child abuse prevention, Internet safety, relational aggression, and sexual harassment and date rape prevention. Volunteers are trained for 2 ½ - 3 hours on material and presentation techniques to use in classrooms serving children from grades 1 – 12. For further information or any questions about this agency, please contact

Helene Finkelstein, bookpal25@gmail.com

FAMILY SERVICE LEAGUE(Brentwood Shelter)

Under the auspices of Family Service League, our goal as TTN Volunteers is to help enhance the lives of the more than 350 children living in this 100 room shelter in Brentwood. We help with Halloween and Christmas activities, special programs, and a Prom Boutique for graduating seniors who live at the shelter. We collect much needed items for the children. If you would like to learn how you could help at the shelter, please contact Judy Brambrut at jbrambrut@aol.com.

GLOBAL EYES OF HOPE

We collect gently used prescription glasses and non-prescription readers for Eyes of Hope. These glasses are distributed globally to help the 2 billion people who don't have access to much needed eyewear due to income, distance, or disaster. If you have either prescription or non-prescription glasses you are able to donate, please contact Joan Gold at fourgolds@aol.com.

HAIR WE SHARE

Hair We Share is a non-profit organization, located in Roslyn, that collects human hair and makes wigs for people with medical issues, such as alopecia and cancer. They have become inundated with donations of hair, and found themselves in a backlog of nearly three months of unprocessed mail. The women in TTN have been helping this organization open and process donations. This will be an ongoing situation which will need “a few good women” to donate their time on a regular basis. Once they catch up, we’ll help them stay caught up! Please consider volunteering your time for this worthy cause. If interested, or for more information, please contact Carol Lioz: carol.lioz11@gmail.com

HOPE FOR YOUTH

Hope For Youth is dedicated to facilitating positive change in the lives of children, adolescents, and families. They provide stable, nurturing, residential care, foster care, preventative and out-patient programs which educate, motivate, and empower individuals to become self-sufficient and achieve their full potential. For further information or any questions about this agency, please contact Joan Gold at fourgolds@aol.com.

ISLAND HARVEST

Island Harvest provides critical food, products, programs and services to Long Island families, seniors, veterans, and children who live with food insecurity and hunger every day. They do this by distributing the equivalent of more than 10 million pounds of food, 8 million meals, to more than 316,000 Long Islanders living with hunger each year. TTN Volunteers work in the office, help with mailings, help prepare backpacks for children’s take home weekend food, help with Island Harvest’s special projects, and help collect food donations which are distributed to over 570 Long Island based food pantries and soup kitchens that offer food to those in need. To get involved helping reduce hunger on Long Island, please contact Robin Jacobson at robin.jacobson4@gmail.com

LONG ISLAND CRISIS CENTER

The Long Island Crisis Center provides 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline services via multiple telephone hotlines and live online and mobile chats. Trained and knowledgeable volunteer counselors answer the calls, offering free, confidential and non-judgmental responses to individuals and families in crisis; listening empathetically while giving short term counseling, information and referrals on a very broad range of issues. At this time, due to the pandemic, all volunteer work is being conducted virtually as all calls are forwarded through home computers. There is a training program (which at this time is conducted mostly virtually) to attend before becoming a volunteer counselor!

For further information please contact Lois Stein at lsteincu@aol. com.

SAFE CENTER OF L.I.

The Safe Center LI provides services for women who are victims of domestic violence and women and girls who have been sexually abused. They offer counseling, advocacy, a safe home for women and their children escaping abuse, transitional housing and education to the community to raise awareness. Our Volunteer Committee donates new clothing and personal items, makes blankets for the babies and shawls for the women. Each year the Center holds a day long Retreat for girls, ages 9 to 16, who have been sexually abused. Our Volunteers make beautiful gift bags for each girl and these bags have brought so much joy and a message of caring to the girls. For information or to answer any questions about this agency, please contact Nancy Goldwasser at ngoldwasser52@gmail.com.

FOR OTHER INFORMATION
For more information on volunteer opportunities, please contact Jeanine Briefel, jeaninebriefel@gmail.com