By Linel Salcedo and Christin Cato

Volunteer. Make a difference. Give back.

These powerful mantras resonated with us as we decided to dedicate a year of service through the NYC Service initiative, the NYC Civic Corps. In response to President Barack Obama’s call to service, Mayor Michael Bloomberg began NYC Service in April 2009 to make New York City a model of  how volunteerism can influence people to become leaders in their communities. Led by Diahann Billings-Burford, the nation’s first chief service officer, NYC Civic Corps is the largest NYC Service initiative tasked with strengthening the key areas of education, environment, health, emergency preparedness, and strengthening the city overall. The nearly 200 Civic Corps members have been placed at 60 agencies in the five boroughs to address the capacity gap at the local level.

We are Michael Brennan, Christin Cato, and Linel Salcedo, three recent college graduates. Last July, we began our journey to make a difference in the Bronx. As Civic Corps members, we wish to influence the apathy and negative perceptions that many people have toward volunteering in the Bronx. We are deeply committed to making the Bronx a place where people want to volunteer.

We now serve at Mosholu Preservation Corporation (MPC), a not-for-profit corporation created by Montefiore Medical Center in 1981 to combat the housing decay and abandonment that had ravaged the Bronx. (It also publishes the Norwood News.) MPC’s goal is to preserve and revitalize Norwood and surrounding communities.  

As a volunteer coordinator in parks and horticulture, Michael Brennan works to recruit residents to volunteer in the beautification of their local Bronx parks. 

As volunteer coordinator of health, wellness and recreation, Linel Salcedo is tasked with getting community members to become more interested in their health. This includes biking, walking, and creating spaces where community members can be physically active.

And finally, Christin Cato, the Arts Program developer, is working to create a new arts initiative that would increase awareness and appreciation of artwork from local Bronxites. We all work with volunteer groups to plant daffodil bulbs/trees, mulching, raking leaves, and erosion control. This creates park space that is clean, friendly and more approachable.

In the words of Robert F. Kennedy, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others… he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” 

This is the essence of the work that we hope to achieve and one of the many reasons we have chosen to work in the service of others.

Do you desire to help your neighbors and give back to your community?  Then volunteering with the Mosholu Preservation Corporation is the place for you!

To get involved, call us anytime at (718) 324-4998 or e-mail us at intern1@mpcbronx.org.