Talk about backing Brooklyn!
More than 250 volunteers came together on Saturday for the second annual Brooklyn Org Volunteer Day — a borough-wide celebration of community service that mobilized residents to support 15 family-friendly activities across 11 locations.
Organized by Brooklyn Org in partnership with a dozen local nonprofits, the April 26 event marked National Volunteer Month by connecting Brooklynites with organizations working to build a more equitable borough. From Red Hook to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, volunteers — including children as young as six — rolled up their sleeves to sort books, pack donated computers, clean streets, farm urban plots and more.
“Brooklyn Org Volunteer Day represents an extraordinary opportunity to unite our borough through service and connect residents with outstanding organizations making meaningful impact in their communities,” said Jocelynne Rainey, president and CEO of Brooklyn Org. “We were thrilled to host this event for a second year in a row and witness its growth.”
Participating organizations included Bloom Again Brooklyn, Brooklyn Book Bodega, Brownsville Community Culinary Center, Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS), Good Call, Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Mixteca, Parent-Child Relationship Center, Red Hook Initiative, Sure We Can, and Technology for Families in Need (TechFIN).
Activities spanned the borough and included a street cleanup and farming session at Red Hook Farms, computer packing and e-waste recycling at Industry City with TechFIN, and book sorting at the Brooklyn Navy Yard with Brooklyn Book Bodega.
The day of service was powered in part by The Service Collective, which helped streamline volunteer registration and day-of coordination. Brooklyn Org Volunteer Day is part of the organization’s broader mission to connect residents with nonprofits driving change across the borough.
Since its founding in 2009, Brooklyn Org has awarded over $130 million to Brooklyn nonprofits through strategic grantmaking and Donor Advised Funds.
Most recently, Brooklyn Org honored five local nonprofits with its prestigious Spark Prize, a $100,000 no-strings-attached grant awarded annually to organizations advancing racial justice in Brooklyn. This year’s Spark Breakfast, held for the first time at Barclays Center, celebrated the honorees’ critical work amid ongoing challenges facing the nonprofit sector.
Among the 2025 recipients was Brooklyn Book Bodega, a Volunteer Day partner committed to expanding youth literacy access across the city.
To learn more about Brooklyn Org and how to get involved, visit brooklyn.org.
