Neighborhood News March 2022 |
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Mary Jo Pane is the founder of Miracle Icons, a jewelry company that promotes a feeling of spiritual and bodily well-being. She is also an NCS volunteer who has donated her time, expertise, and supplies to teach our residents to make jewelry at both of NCS's supportive residences, the NCS Residence and Louis Nine House.
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"Volunteering at Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I first volunteered at the NCS Residence in December 2018. One of the men making a bracelet came over to thank me. He said that he now had a Christmas gift for his mom and that he was so excited to have something to give her this year. I was incredibly moved. I wanted to do more.
A few months later I went to Louis Nine House in the Bronx to make jewelry with the young adults living there. We made red bracelets together for Valentine’s Day. I loved their enthusiasm, spirit, and gratitude.
What inspires me the most about NCS is that it's not just a place to live but also has services that meet residents' other needs. I see people sitting on the streets in New York and know that many of them sleep in shelters but can’t stay during the day. I wish that everyone in need had access to the housing and support NCS offers— all day long.
The young adults I met at Louis Nine House are inspired and in school, working, or looking for jobs. They have the help they need right where they live to take the next step. The residents on the Upper East Side receive the care they need as they age. Many of them are around my age and I felt so lucky to be able to spend time getting to know them and experience their community.”
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Thank you, Mary Jo Pane for all you do to support and inspire our clients!
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Mary Jo Pane will be among the honorees at our upcoming Neighbors Helping Neighbors Spring Benefit on Wednesday, May 18th at Current at Chelsea Piers. Reserve your tickets today!
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George Ryckman and Ronald |
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According to a 2021 poll, only 7% of American’s consider Wednesday their favorite day of the week. But for many at the NCS Residence, hump day is the best day.
For the past twenty years, youth volunteers from The Brick Presbyterian Church have prepared, served, and enjoyed dinner with guests from NCS each week. What started as mandatory community service has grown into so much more.
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Confirmation candidates at The Brick Church are required to volunteer at two NCS dinners while in 8th grade. But many of the young volunteers love the experience and getting to know the residents so much that they come every week to catch up with their NCS neighbors turned friends.
“There are kids who started volunteering in 8th grade and years later will come back to volunteer while home on college break or when visiting family after college,” shared The Reverend Adam Gorman, who leads the dinner program. “These dinners are an important part of the week for the kids in the church but we make sure they understand that it’s also an important part of the week for the NCS guests,” Rev. Gorman explained.
Will Ryckman is one of these kids. He began volunteering five years ago as an 8th grade student and soon became a regular at the dinners. His two younger brothers, George and James, wanted to join him, and soon their father, Bill, began volunteering as one of the deacon leaders who supervised. It was a family affair. “It’s not just about the meal,” Bill Ryckman explains. “It’s about the companionship. Over the years, the kids have gotten to know the NCS guests and really learn their stories and the guests love talking to the kids. It’s meaningful for everyone involved.”
For the Ryckman family, one guest has made an especially big impact. Ronald, a long-time resident at the NCS Residence and frequent dinner guest, is known around NCS for his love of literature (read more), a passion he shares with the young volunteers at Brick.
“Will, George, and James would come home from the dinners and tell me about Ronald,” their mother Pamela Ryckman shared. “He loved talking to them about the books they were reading and would really engage them with discussions about history and biographies. George was in 5th grade when he started volunteering and he was interested in Lincoln at the time. He bonded with Ronald talking about the former president.”
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The feeling is mutual! Ronald appreciates the sense of community these dinners help build. “Brick Church is my favorite place to hang out,” he shared. “Being around the young kids is inspiring because they are really genuine and sincere about what they’re doing— it is uplifting just to be around the young people, it enlivens me.”
Ronald became so close with the Ryckman family that he would often attend their school wrestling matches to cheer the boys on, joined the family when they went to see To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway, and even wrote a letter of recommendation when George applied to school.
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Thank you, Brick Presbyterian Church, for bringing Ronald and the Ryckman’s together, and for twenty years of dinners, memories, and friendship between your parishioners of all ages and the NCS guests who have become a part of your community. |
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In honor of NCS’s 40th anniversary, we will be sharing stories like this one about our founders, volunteers, supporters, and staff who make our work possible, and the residents and clients at the center of our mission.
Check out the other stories we have posted here, and be sure to return throughout the year as we regularly update the series with new stories.
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Voting for Target Circle is open until March 31st! Every vote helps NCS get a bigger donation from Target!
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HOW TO VOTE:
- Go to www.target.com/circle by Thursday, March 31st and log into your Target account to see how many votes you have (every time you've made a purchase, you've earned a vote).
- Once you're on www.target.com/circle you will see a section called "Community Support"— that's where you go to vote for NCS. And you can give NCS all of your votes!
- For NCS to come up as a voting option you will need to set your "My store" location to a Manhattan store. (The option to do that is in the account menu at the top right of the site.)
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Already voted? You get more votes every time you make a Target purchase, so be sure to check back and vote again by March 31st! |
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Administrative Office
50 Broadway
Suite 1301
New York, NY 10004
Phone: (212) 537-5100
Fax: (212) 860-2301
ncs@ncsinc.org
www.ncsinc.org
Board of Directors
David A. Oliver
President
Wolcott B. Dunham, Jr.
Stephanie W. Guest
Thomas J. Kilkenny
Stuart N. Siegel
Vice Presidents
Susan Stevens
Treasurer
Jan F. Golann
Secretary
Victoria Bert
Anne S. Davidson
Abigail Black Elbaum
Matthew D. Hughes
Oren K. Isacoff
Ann Ross Loeb
Rachael Piltch-Loeb
Marta Radzyminski
Stephanie Shuman
Christopher W. Solomon
Ann L. Shalof
Chief Executive Officer
NCS Programs
Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter provides New Yorkers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with a home, a community, and access to the services that they need to thrive. We create innovative solutions and engage community partners to provide housing and support that can transform lives.
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