April 2020: Responding to COVID: Today and Tomorrow

CVNY’s April meeting, held via webinar and in conjunction with CECP, Philanthropy NY, and Service for Impact, to learn about how to best engage employees in virtual volunteer opportunities during the COVID-19 outbreak. Though these are certainly unprecedented times, the work of CSR professionals is more important now than ever.

Here is the link to the recording, as well as the PowerPoint deck used during the meeting available for download here: Service-for-Impact-Slides.

Facilitated by Carmen Perez (CECP), the agenda included presentations by:
• Gary Bagley (New York Cares): Gary highlighted ways in which NY Cares is responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. NY Cares has been prioritizing hunger, mental and physical health, and education. Gary’s contact information is included in the PPT deck. Learn more about their efforts here.

• Suzanne McHenry (PwC): Suzanne explained that the PwC staff is “looking for ways to give back while they are at home.” They have launched the “Access Your Potential commitment” and are “committed to supporting our communities when they’re in need, especially in crisis.” Learn more about their efforts here.

• Lisa Gleason (FactSet): Lisa explained that FactSet, in partnership with Zooniverse, is participating in Global Relay for Good. “Virtual volunteers are able to turn information like images, videos, and sound files, into useful datasets that inform research projects.” Learn more here.

• Matthew Nelson (New York Life): Matthew sparked some interesting discussion around how we need to change our service in a time of disruption. At a time like this, it’s imperative that we assess the needs of our community and nonprofits. How can your volunteering provide support without adding burden on nonprofit staff? How will your company address the gap corporate volunteers will experience if their service opportunities are canceled?

We must remember that caring for our communities during this time is a marathon, not a sprint. We will continue to see the repercussions of COVID-19 in our philanthropic work for months and years to come.