Looking to help out this holiday season? Several volunteer opportunities are available right here in North Brooklyn. Check out the list below to learn how you can give back.
The Greenpoint Hunger Program
The Greenpoint Hunger Program, at the Greenpoint Reformed Church (136 Milton St.) is a non-sectarian emergency food program that provides no-cost groceries and hot meals to hungry people in Brooklyn. The program’s mission is to ensure that no one dies of hunger in North Brooklyn.
The Greenpoint Hunger Program offers a Takeout Dinner every Wednesday 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. They also have a Food Pantry that is open Thursdays 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. The group is looking for volunteers who know how to cook, can speak Polish, or can lift heavy objects.
To learn how to get involved, email them at [email protected] with your name, phone number, and any special skills you may have.
Friends of Transmitter Park
Friends of Transmitter Park is a community-based volunteer group that was revived in December 2016. The mission of the Friends of Transmitter Park is to protect and care for the park in partnership with the local community and NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
FTP says that volunteers play a vital role in maintaining Transmitter Park, and the group is delighted to provide opportunities for the Greenpoint community to give back through gardening, environmental clean–up, events and more. They also offer opportunities for corporate groups to give back to the community, while building camaraderie and corporate culture through fun and rewarding outdoor projects.
For more information on how to get involved, email them at [email protected].
Greenpoint Trash Pickup
A local group simply called Greenpoint Trash Pickup meets on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Safehouse to pick up trash in the neighborhood. They usually pick up trash for about 45 minutes, and then grab drinks. Gloves and trash grabbers are provided.
Check out their Instagram @greenpointtrash.
Los Sures
Los Sures started in 1972 with a minimal staff and a handful of volunteers who faced the daunting task of rebuilding the Southside of Williamsburg. Now, the group works to preserve and develop affordable housing in the neighborhood, while providing social services for the community.
One example is the pantry on South 3rd Street. They pack bags on Monday and distribute them on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Los Sures offers other volunteer opportunities related to Community Organizing and Activism, Communications, Social Services, Senior Citizens, and Hydroponic Farming.
Locals interested in volunteering can reach out to 718-387-3600 or [email protected]. (They ask that you write “Volunteer” in the title.)
North Brooklyn Angels
North Brooklyn Angels is a 95% volunteer-powered non-profit organization that started in 2017. The Angels bring food to those in need with a mobile soup kitchen called the Angelmobile, which regularly serves over 1,800 hot, healthy meals a week at nine locations in North Brooklyn.
The group relies on people every day to help cook and clean the kitchen and to serve meals from their fleet of mobile soup kitchen vehicles. Volunteers do things like drive trucks, package hundreds of meals, and help sort and distribute clothing to families in need.
You can volunteer for a weekday lunch shift online through Deed. Once you have signed up, look up North Brooklyn Angels to see the few upcoming shifts.
Volunteering with North Brooklyn Angels on Thanksgiving Day will include Thanksgiving Tuesday on November 26 in Bushwick and Thanksgiving Thursday on November 28 in Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and East Williamsburg. Volunteers are needed at each location between 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
In addition to that, North Brooklyn Angels needs help with community outreach and fundraising to support the ability to provide 1,000 frozen turkeys, pre-Thanksgiving special lunches, and sit-down Thanksgiving Day lunches to our neighbors.
The group is also looking for at least three photographers to take pictures of the three Thanksgiving Day locations, Spanish- and Polish-speaking volunteers, and locals to help with furniture set up and light decorations on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 27.
North Brooklyn Angels sends a newsletter every two weeks to volunteers who opt-in to receive updates on emerging needs, upcoming events, and opportunities. Email [email protected] if you’d like to receive these emails, and email [email protected] if you have more questions about getting involved.
North Brooklyn Mutual Aid
North Brooklyn Mutual Aid was formed in response to the pandemic, and the group is invested in longstanding community initiatives in North Brooklyn, including composting, community fridges, care kits, and caring for parks and gardens.
In addition to the efforts listed below, NBMA is currently looking for general help in these areas: Translation-Services and Non-English-Speaking Outreach, Bystander Intervention & De-escalation Training, and Emergency Preparedness.
You can sign up to volunteer by filling out a form on this page. NBMA divides volunteers by “pods” or areas in the neighborhood.
Community Fridges: North Brooklyn Mutual Aid’s Community Fridges supports a network of public refrigerators, free and open to all, stocked with donations by neighbors, local businesses, and community partners. Free fridges help get more food into the hands of people who need it and reduce food waste.
The current fridges are open 24/7 at the Cooper Park Houses (76 Kingsland Ave.), The Lot Radio (17 Nassau Ave.), and Greenpoint Library (107 Norman Ave.).
Compost: North Brooklyn Mutual Aid’s Compost is weekly food scrap drop-offs on Sundays in McGolrick Park on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Look for our volunteers and big green bins located on the path leading from Russell Street to the center of the park.
Care Kits: Care Kits is a volunteer-led project to assemble and distribute individual kits of personal hygiene products, period products, and baby products to our unhoused neighbors in North Brooklyn and greater NYC. Examples include shampoo, toilet paper, sunscreen, toothpaste, and body warmers.
McCarren Demonstration Garden: This project is a partnership with GrowNYC for the North Brooklyn Mutual Aid to steward the McCarren Park Demonstration Garden (457 Leonard St.) as open space for food justice and eco education. Volunteers grow food to stock local free fridges and provide free workshops, events, and classes for the community.
North Brooklyn Stewards: NBK Stewards is an open space visioning, planning, and stewardship group dedicated to expanding and caring for North Brooklyn’s parks and open spaces. Volunteers accomplish this through master planning, advocacy, and clean-ups throughout the neighborhood.