Letter from Executive Director Mary Bleiberg
| January 2009
Dear Friends, One of my first official acts as Executive Director was to send out more than 1,000 holiday cards to people who have helped grow ReServe through their support or participation. I was amazed by the extent and diversity of ReServe’s network of friends: People from every neighborhood in New York City and beyond; former and current ReServists, supervisors from partner organizations including over 20 city agencies, dozens of contributors of gifts large and small. Just as impressive was the fact that our staff seemed to know most of these people really well and spoke of many with great warmth. How did ReServe create such a large and vibrant network in just three years? By the end of my first month, I began to understand the reasons for ReServe’s rapid growth and popularity. It has created a new community, one that brings together for the very first time a growing number of retirees who want to put their skills and experience to work for the greater good with employers in the not-for-profit sector who are in desperate need of their talents. This new community also includes public officials who are struggling to maintain the City’s safety net in the face of plummeting revenues, and private philanthropists who need to make their gifts go further. Under the leadership of its dedicated Board, ReServe’s staff has created new systems and cultural norms which foster respect and appreciation for experience across generations and economic sectors, and at the same time promote large scale social change. The fact that employers are required to pay ReServists, who work at below market rates, serves to strengthen our communal bonds by increasing the expectations and motivation of both groups. Everyone benefits from being a part of this community, which is diverse, committed and expanding rapidly. It includes people who retired 20 years ago and people who are just coming off glamorous and all consuming careers. Unlike some other communities, ours is not limited by geography. As the first class of baby boomers – more than 70 million – enters traditional retirement age, we are gearing up for a big growth spurt. I am honored to be part of the ReServe community. I look forward to working with you and learning from you. I look forward to getting to know most if not all of the people on our Holiday list and to helping that list double in size! With best wishes for a happy and healthy new year, |
August 11th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Mary, I am a volunteer at the Hyde Leadership Charter School which opened three years ago in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx. We are now looking to tell our amazing story to the media. Our school needs a pro bono PR professional to help us, and Marcia Kublanow at UJA recommended that I get in touch with you.
The Hyde Leadership Charter School (Hyde-Bronx) is unique both in terms of our focus on parent involvement and our belief that character building is an essential part of what a school needs to teach in order to help students become responsible, happy and contributing adults. Hyde-Bronx emphasizes the critical success factor–the family– and Hyde’s family-based character education program doesn’t just engage the student…it engages the whole family. Hyde-Bronx believes that parents/guardians are the primary teachers and home is the primary classroom. This unique approach allows teachers to partner with students’ families.
Hyde-Bronx is also unique in that it teaches integrity, leadership, curiosity, concern and courage which provides a strong foundation and means for achieving academic excellence.
Any help you could provide in helping us find a pro bono PR professional so that we could share our story with the media, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Susan