The event drew about 21 volunteers seeking CPR certification, some for a work requirement or class, but most just looking to get certified so that they can be prepared in the event of an emergency.

CPR Instructor Offers Tips to JCorps Volunteers

Even JCorps Founder Ari Teman, and JCorps COO Giselle Mazur got in on the action.

JCorps President Ari Teman Helps With a Demonstration of the Heimlich Maneuver

JCorps COO Giselle Mazur Practices CPR Compressions

JCorps hopes to offer free CPR certification in all JCorps cities by the end of the year.

Thank you to all of our wonderful JCorps volunteers for dedicating your time and energy! JCorps would be nothing without you!

The Certified Class

JCorps Volunteers Learning CPR

The event was an overwhelming success as 25 college students and young professionals learned CPR from American Heart Association certified instructors.

According to the American Heart Association, performing CPR can double the chance of survival in a victim suffering from a heart attack.

JCorps Volunteers Listening to CPR Instructions

The next JCorps Free CPR Certification event is Wednesday, July 21^st at 7 p.m. at the JCorps office. Anyone who would like to attend the event must pre-register on the JCorps Web site: http://jcorps.org/e/140.

Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers!

CPR Saves Lives

JCorps is proud to announce that we are offering free CPR certification courses for JCorps volunteers thanks to the generosity of Manhattan CPR and private donors.

The “Save a Life” events will be held Tues. July 13 and Wed. July 21 at 7pm in Mid-town Manhattan. Use the links above to sign up for the day you would like to take the course and we will send you the event location and details.

We hope that this initiative will allow JCorps volunteers to give back to the community even when they are not at JCorps events, and we look forward to expanding this opportunity to Israel and the other JCorps cities in the coming months.

Taylor Williamson, JCorps Volunteer and Stand-up Comedian

JCorps would like to extend a hearty congratulations to one of our active volunteers, Taylor Williamson, who is in the Last Comic Standing semi-finals on NBC.

Taylor was an active member of JCorps in New York before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his comedy dreams. He logged dozens of hours of JCorps service and helped us become the organization we are today.

You can see Taylor’s Last Comic Standing audition on the first episode of the season. Be sure to watch the show and show your support for one of our outstanding members.

Taylor doing Stand-up Comedy

We have some pictures of the space, which will be used for JCorps administration, the JCorps internship and office volunteer program, and other JCorps operations.

Check it out... We're official.

As you can see, we have a great space but are still lacking some supplies and décor, so if you have an extra computer you don’t use, a couch, art or anything else you think we might be able to use, please let us know!

JCorps is a Jewish social volunteer network. We are non-denominational and non-religious, and work to improve the community while improving ourselves.

-Marketing & Branding,
-Non-Profits,
-Social Media,
-Community Building
-Internet Development (Web 2.0)
- Graphic Design
- Event Planning
- Innovation and Building a Startup Company

or someone between jobs who’d like a desk in a bright, sunny office (like Google!) filled with great people and a meaninful way to spend their day…

JCorps ( http://jcorps.org ) is looking for Interns and Volunteers during the day in our Midtown NYC office (near many subways). You’ll help connect thousands of people with volunteering and grow JCorps around the world. You’ll learn from well-connected leaders and innovators awarded by The White House, Inc Magazine, The Jewish Federations, The Jewish Week, and more, getting personal face-time with the boss. You’ll do real work and make a real difference.

To apply: email your resume and available dates & times to Giselle, atinternship2010@jcorps.org . Be sure to write a short note telling us why you’re awesome for the gig and what you’d like to learn!

School credit available.

Sorry, we don’t have any other positions available.

Ari,
founder, JCorps
http://jcorps.org/ ]]> http://global.jcorps.org/blog/224/summer-internships-and-daytime-volunteering-opportunities-with-jcorps-midtown-nyc/2010-05-24/feed 0 http://global.jcorps.org/blog/211/jcorps-featured-volunteer-3/2010-04-22 http://global.jcorps.org/blog/211/jcorps-featured-volunteer-3/2010-04-22#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:40:38 +0000 giselle http://global.jcorps.org/?p=211 In honor of National Volunteer Week, JCorps would like to shine a spotlight on one exceptional volunteer a day through the end of the month.

Who are you: Oliver Josephs. I am the Founder of the JCorps DC chapter.  I organized and participated in every DC event.  I used to live in NY and had volunteered there in 2007 before founding the DC chapter.

How you pay the bills: I’m an Accounting Analyst for The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

What makes you so special I’m a CPA, LEED AP, triathlete (I was sponsored… now I just don’t have time to train and race as much), artist (received an art scholarship to high school) and I lived abroad for 9 years (in England from 9-18). I was a Cadet in the Air Force during High School. I’m an avid traveler (25 countries and counting).I love to cook (trying my best), and I’m a foodie…. yelp helps!  Most of all I’m an explorer and love to push my own limits!

Favorite JCorps moment: Someone wanted to get a bite to eat after we finished an event and twelve people followed suit…. totally unplanned.  It’s great to see people enjoying one another’s company.

Why JCorps rocks your socks:  It’s so easy to start a chapter.  Ari Teman has been such a great leader.

Oliver with the JCorps Washington DC Team

How do we get you out of bed before noon on a Sunday? I love giving back to the community.

What would you say to shamelessly promote us to your friends? It’s so easy, all you have to do is show up!

How has being a part of JCorps changed your life (because clearly it must have)? Change for me rarely comes from one thing.  I hope I have changed JCorps just has much as it has changed me.  We have both evolved together as we have capitalized on opportunities risen to challenges.

Have you done volunteer work besides your amazing participation with JCorps? Most recently I was a lay leader for Mitzvahstock, a huge volunteer event in DC.

Ariele Riboh

Who are you: Ariele Riboh, 28 (as of today! yikes lol). I started with JCorps in January and I volunteer 2 to 3 times a month as an active volunteer and team leader.

How you pay the bills: I am a dance/movement therapist with the Bay Park Center for nursing and rehabilitation.

What makes you so special I am interested in dance, art, pilate, martial arts… i speak french and some spanish…. i am fascinated by people in general and how their upbringing is expressed in their characters as adults.

Favorite JCorps moment: My favorite memory is not so specific. It’s more the connections that I make with people. I really enjoy doing the arts and crafts with the seniors and am particularly fond of the French-speaking lady as she is astonished every time I speak to her in French. She tells me time and time again that I must go work as a secretary for the United Nations!

Ariele gets told she should work for the UN.

Why JCorps rocks your socks: I like the fact that everything is volunteer run (for the most:))* and that It’s a great place to meet people and do something with your time.

How do we get you out of bed before noon on a Sunday? I come to JCorps because I enjoy the opportunities to help others and meet new people and make new friends. It allows me to feel connected to a larger community… and it’s just plain fun!

Would you give us some shameless publicity and brag about us to your friends? I would definitely recommend JCorps to a friend! I would more than likely tell them that it is a laid back environment in which you can learn new skills, do good for the community and meet awesome people.

How has being a part of JCorps changed your life (because clearly it must have)? I wouldn’t say that JCorps has inspired me to change, but it has inspired me to continue pursue my passion for helping others, and reminds me to not take for granted what I have and the opportunities that I have been given in life. It also reminds me that there is always someone who needs a little help and it is a beautiful gift to give your time to make someone else’s life a little better even just for a few moments.

Have you done volunteer work besides your amazing participation with JCorps? I have done volunteer work at an after school program working with children with disabilities, and I have volunteered for different organizations on bringing awareness about sexual assault and rape.

Ariele Volunteering.

*JCorps has one full time operations employee.

Brian Kramer

Who are you: Brian Kramer, 24 years old; Volunteers 1-2 times a month, sometimes as a team leader.

How you pay the bills: Research Assistant at Weill Cornell Medical College (He scans brains for a living!)

What makes you so special: I’m currently working at a research lab that studies learning and development, I love to go hiking and backpacking, I’m a rabid Philadelphia sports fan and take a lot of flak for this living in NYC. I like to play sports (anyone who is reading the blog and would like to play tennis with me, get in touch with me on Facebook), I like to read, and I like following politics…Oh, and I hope to take a trip to Costa Rica by the end of the year.

How you got mixed up with this crowd of hooligans: I started coming to JCorps events shortly after moving to NY in October 2008– I read about it on a Volunteering NYC website.

Funniest Jcorps moment: During one of the cleanups at Riverside Park last autumn, Ari and I were really determined to remove this stubborn root that had grown to be a monster. We tried to remove it with everything, we tried to chip away at it and dig it out of the ground but it did not want to give way. Finally, we used a hacksaw and after about twenty minutes we won.

Brian vs. the Root

Why JCorps rocks your socks: I like the variety of different organizations and individuals that JCorps helps. Volunteering at the Kateri Residence on the Upper West Side, painting a basement with Habitat for Humanity, or cleaning up Riverside Park are all very different but rewarding causes and I always look forward to what we’re doing at JCorps.

How do we get you out of bed before noon on a Sunday? First, I come to JCorps events to help out in the New York area– the different causes that JCorps is involved with are really worthwhile. As a native of the Philadelphia area, I find that volunteering allows me to become a part of the community in New York– volunteering achieves that end far more than renting an apartment or traveling to work every day ever could. Second, JCorps has allowed me to become a bigger part of the Jewish community in New York City– I feel like social justice is one of the things that really connects me to Judaism. Finally, I’ve met many incredible people and made lots of new friends who are my age at JCorps. After graduating from college, it becomes far more difficult to make new friends with similar interests and everyone who comes to JCorps is always so nice. It’s hard not to like the people who are involved in the organization.

Would you give us some shameless publicity and brag about us to your friends? Absolutely. Life can get kind of frantic but the opportunity to volunteer in the city with other Jewish young adults is definitely worth two hours of your time on a Sunday afternoon. Come with a friend or come alone. Either way it’s a great organization and a great idea and you should at least try it.

How has being a part of JCorps changed your life (because clearly it must have)? There was a time in high school when I was a little down on volunteering. Some of the clubs/ organizations I was involved with would keep quotas on the number of hours we had to volunteer in order to maintain membership. To me, incentivizing volunteering like that really defeats the purpose of volunteering. JCorps is so laid back and there really are no hierarchies or rewards; I feel like I can just enjoy volunteering wherever we are and helping whoever I am helping.

Have you done volunteer work besides your amazing participation with JCorps? I volunteered in New Orleans during the senior year of college through Hillel, I’ve walked dogs at the shelters in NYC, and I’ve been involved with New York Cares.

Brian with other JCorps Volunteers

Today brings a big change for JCorps.

JCorps's 50th Event

Ari at one of JCorps' first events

I started JCorps with big goals, it’s legal name from Day One was “JCorps International, Inc.” . We started in New York City in December of 2006 and quickly expanded to Jerusalem, Montreal, and are now open in cities as far as Russia and the Ukraine. We’ve had thousands of volunteers from over 180 schools, 450 companies, and 20 countries. Every year, we feed over 21,000 meals to the hungry, beautify acres of parks, and visit hundreds of sick children and elderly around the world.

One of my goals from the outset was to prove we could build a great organization with just volunteers. By designing a simple franchise system with clear rules and guidelines, the JCorps model could be replicated and grown with little reinvention. Our model was Wikipedia, which was built by a team of uber-dedicated volunteers. However, like Wikipedia the scale and scope of JCorps has grown to demand full time staff. When JCorps hit three cities I started to feel my time limited. Now we’re opening in eight.

The potential for JCorps demands full time staff. And in the spirit that “A Players Hire A Players”, I’m excited to announce our first full-time staff person, a Chief Operating Officer who will support our volunteer Division Leaders and Team Leaders as well as built our presence around the world.

We’re happy to welcome Giselle Mazur to JCorps as COO.

Giselle volunteering

Giselle was a star player working at the UF Hillel, and recently worked with a rising startup company. In JCorps, she says, she has found her dream job, engaging and connecting the Jewish community through service.

Our goals are only getting larger and our reach is growing broader every day. Stay tuned for announcements of JCorps in new cities in the USA and around the world, as well as internship programs, training programs, and nighttime First Responder and CPR classes that will enable thousands of JCorps volunteers to respond to crises and save lives.

People have asked, “What’s Jewish about JCorps?” I believe one of the greatest contributions Judaism gave the world is the idea that people can repair and grow themselves and that perfection is not an ideal; struggle is. Included in that is the idea that the path to true happiness and meaning in life is in helping others, which is one way to improve yourself. None of our heroes are perfect. Their heroism is that they persist in improving themselves. JCorps has always been a selfish endeavor, for it is about helping others with the aim of improving yourself.

Ari Teman

I’ll be alongside to see JCorps into its next phase, and then I’ll leave it in Giselle’s trusted hands. JCorps has been an amazing ride, and I feel like I’m putting my child up for adoption. (That’s probably a good analogy, since sometimes I feel like a bad parent.) I’ve learned a lot, met thousands of amazing people, and even gotten invites to the Mayor’s house and the White House. I’ll be forever indebted to the kindness you have all shown, and so I’ll be forever available to help JCorps.

It’s amazing what we can build with $300 and a big idea.

Thank you, and let’s welcome Giselle.

Ari Teman,
founder, JCorps