Mayor Bloomberg and ReServist Sheila Washington

Photo courtesy of Colin Clark

The 2009 Reservist Recognition Reception in mid-June hosted by ReServe and Mayor Bloomberg welcomed more than 400 guests who were in high spirits at the informal gathering and barbecue on the lawn of Gracie Mansion. The reception was the third annual event that ReServe has held to recognize the work that ReServists are doing, although the first time the event included Mayor Bloomberg.

As guests mingled and enjoyed the food, beverages and the Maddock NYC Trio, sponsored by ReServe, the Mayor invited any and all to join him, one at a time, for a handshake and a souvenir photo.

In addition to more than 300 active ReServists, guests included members of the ReServe Board of Directors, its office staff and representatives of 12 city agencies and 85 private nonprofit organizations that currently have ReServists on board.

Speakers were Mayor Bloomberg; Jack Rosenthal, a ReServe founder and current Chairman of the Board; and Sheila Washington, a ReServist who is serving the AARP Foundation.

“I might qualify as a ReServist myself,” the Mayor said. “I’m a card-carrying member of the AARP, who works in City government, for $1 a year.”

The Mayor spoke about the history of ReServe, its mission to connect baby boomers with civic engagement opportunities at nonprofits and city agencies, and its founders Jack Rosenthal and Herb Sturz.  “We’re incredibly grateful to them for mobilizing the talents of retired New Yorkers,” he said.  “It’s a great deal for New York, so on behalf of all New Yorkers let me say how grateful we are for your service.”

After thanking ReServists for “demonstrating, with [their] service, the sustained contribution that older adults can make to society,” Rosenthal spoke of Dr. Robert N. Butler, prize-winning author, gerontologist and psychiatrist who coined the word ‘ageism’ to reflect discrimination.

Butler, he said, “believes that living longer may be the most important phenomenon of the modern era. There always have been the few who lived to be very old, Rosenthal said, “but never before have so many people lived so long and so strong.  Millions can now look forward after retirement to 20 and more years of decent health, sustainable income, productivity and service.”

And service, he noted, is what ReServe is about. Since the organization was begun four years ago, “We have placed some 850 ReServists in places as varied as the American Museum of Natural History, Sanctuary for Families and the Department of Consumer Affairs.  Our budget is $1.5 million and is producing work valued at three times that.”

Washington was an accomplished leader to emerging businesses in California, where she was educated. When she left gainful employment, she moved back to New York where she found ReServe to be the perfect route for turning ideas into projects in the nonprofit sector. “I salute all the key players-ReServe, the organizations, and most importantly the ReServists,” she said. “It is this collaboration that makes things happen to get ideas done.”

At the Gracie Mansion fete, the rain held off to the end, and the crowd dispersed with a renewed sense of accomplishment and pride. The restored farmhouse overlooking the East River is designated as the mayor’s formal residence. Although Mr. Bloomberg lives in his private residence, he is no stranger to the mansion and he frequently entertains and hosts meetings there. “In fact, you’re not really guests here at all because each of you owns about one-eight millionth of this place,” the Mayor said.  “Of course that means we hope you’ll stick around and help with the dishes later…[but] you do so much for the city year-round, I think we’ll give you the night off.”

ReServist team at HRA: Stan Frank, SJ Avery, Suzanne Sutin, David Gikow

Health insurance reform is a hot topic in the nation, but for some New Yorkers the ability to research what’s available now is more important than what changes may bring in the future. So the city, with the help of four ReServists, is working on a solution and a citywide campaign to promote the tool, a new Web site to be known as NYC HiLink.

The site, more formally the NYC Health Insurance Link, is a project of OCHIA, short for the Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access which is part of the NYC Human Resources Administration.

Reservists Suzanne Sutin and Stan Frank bring their backgrounds as marketing directors to the marketing team. David Gikow, an attorney with computer programming expertise, is the programming liaison, and S.J. Avery, a former nonprofit executive, is the resource developer. They are supervised by Marjorie Cadogan, executive deputy commissioner of HRA. “HiLink is in the review process now and should be online later in the summer,” Cadogan said.

The link will offer one-stop shopping where individuals and small businesses may compare benefits and prices among policies from private providers doing business in the city. It also will offer information on how to get the most coverage for your money, define important health insurance terms and provide consumer protection information.

The city is to partner with a wide range of organizations to help promote NYC HiLink and distribute advertising and promotional materials.

Front: ReServists DJ Mazer, Patricia Friend, Joan Barnett; Back: DFTA staff Sabrina Ramos, Maeve Rullo, Scott Mason, Marlon Guerrero

The Department for the Aging held a farewell party in honor of five ReServists who successfully completed a six-month project.  The party held June 2, 2009, honored the work of these ReServists and concluded this particular collaboration between ReServe and DFTA, which demonstrated exactly the type of experience that is possible for both ReServists and partner organizations. DFTA, a partner of ReServe since 2007, has been served by more than 50 ReServists among various roles.

ReServists Joan Barnett, Patricia Friend, Vickie Kess, DJ Mazer, and Carolyn Williams were hired to help with a major change being planned for one of DFTA’s important services, home delivered meals.

Beginning in February, the department needed to transition all clients in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan to new meal providers. Knowing that a shift of this proportion could have its share of challenges, Bureau of Senior Centers Assistant Commissioner Scott Mason along with his staff realized that ReServists could be of great use in fielding the many phone calls to 311 that the transition was sure to illicit from clients.

By the time the transition began, staff members Maeve Rullo, Marlon Guerrero and Sabrina Ramos had the ReServists trained and ready to work the phones. As anticipated, calls came in and the team of ReServists responded by arranging for proper meal delivery, troubleshooting when a delivery was missed, and assisting in advocating for seniors who needed help communicating with their new service providers.

At the farewell party where three of the five ReServists were present, the DFTA team commended the patience, empathy and excellent customer service that each of the ReServists demonstrated and showed their gratitude by presenting each of them with a bouquet.

Ramos, who is the director of operations and special projects and worked closely with the team on a daily basis, said, “The ReServists were able to jump right in and not only perform their jobs, but also become part of the office culture right away. Their ability to fit right in was not only beneficial in helping them to more effectively complete tasks, but was also an impressive show of openness and genuine warmth.”

When asked to share their own remarks, Ms. Friend, Ms. Barnett, and Ms. Mazer each expressed the sincere pleasure they experienced being part of the project and working with such a supportive staff.

Friend pointed out that through this experience she learned about the valuable services that DFTA offers and is comforted by the fact that, should the time come, “DFTA will be there for me when I need them.”

Host Beverly Danields with guests (L-R) Barbara Gaines, Scott Kariya, Pat Scott, Mary S. Bleiberg, Jesse Dean, Dennis Redmond, Evi Blaikie, Alexis Greene

ReServe was featured recently on “Power Tools for Life,” a Queens Public Television program. Beverly Danields is producer and host of the one-hour show that focuses on organizations and individuals serving  the Queens community. The segment that aired June 16-17 was a panel discussion of ReServe’s mission, its partners, and the professionalism of ReServists. It also focused on what it means to give back to a community through service.

Danields spoke to the core of the ReServe program: “They find the perfect match. Here they are fitting a real need, not only for the organizations they partnership with, but for the individuals who are actually ReServists.”

Panelists included, Mary S. Bleiberg, ReServe’s Executive Director; Scott Kariya, a ReServe Program Officer; Dennis Redmond, Director of Staff Development and Support at the Queens Community House, a ReServe partner; ReServist Barbara Gaines, who works with Redmond as a Human Resources Assistant; Evi Blaikie, Assistant to the President at the Community Environmental Center, a ReServe partner, and ReServist Alexis Greene who is helping the CEC as a Marketing and Public Relations Consultant.

Addressing today’s problems Redmond said, “These are very difficult times for all nonprofits as they are in general for society. With shrinking resources, we’re very much committed to providing, to maintaining, our core services.”

He said he appreciated the flexibility and talent pool provided in the ReServe model.  “It forces all of us to be a little more creative in how we do it and also to count on others a little more than we did before.”

Bleiberg pointed to the recent success of ReServe’s partnership with the NYC Serve initiative launched in April.  “We work with one group of people, but we work with many organizations…and I think [serving] is becoming a citywide activity which is to try and say, “OK, how are we going to make this city better and get through this?”

“Aging is what we’re all doing…and it is good to know that you’re needed and useful” said Gaines about her work at the Queens Community House.  “It is not the stipend pay. I’m not saying it doesn’t help, but it is being useful and contributing what you have and what you know and even what you’ve forgotten,” she said.

Pat Scott, a ReServist assigned to the nonprofit’s office, connected ReServe with Danields and assisted in pre-production setup.  Queens Public Television reaches up to 400,000 households.