Hundreds of residents fanned out across the borough Saturday as part of Brooklyn Org National Volunteer Day, an annual initiative led by Brooklyn Org during National Volunteer Month.
The April 25 event connected volunteers with at least 35 local nonprofits hosting service projects ranging from food distribution and urban farming to park cleanups, advocacy work and youth programming. Organizers at Brooklyn Org said the effort is designed to give Brooklynites hands-on opportunities to engage with organizations across neighborhoods.
“Brooklynites want to be engaged in making their borough even better and Brooklyn Org Volunteer Day is just one way we are helping people be part of the civic fabric of Brooklyn,” Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, president and CEO of Brooklyn Org, said in a statement. “From volunteering to community events, to giving and donor-advised funds, we are excited to connect Brooklynites to all the ways they can play a bigger part in strengthening our communities.”
Volunteer sites included a wide network of community partners such as Mixteca, Asiyah Women’s Center, YVote, The Campaign Against Hunger, Red Hook Initiative, CHiPS, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, Sure We Can and Black Trans Femmes in the Arts.
At one site in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the B.R.O. Experience Foundation hosted a three-part volunteer project, in its headquarters known as the BRO Space. Participants worked on a collaborative mural, assembled 200 wellness kits for distribution to men in the community — particularly for those who are unhoused — and created affirmation placards for young men involved in the foundation’s programs.
Barry Cooper, founder and executive director of the B.R.O. Experience Foundation, said the day was about bringing people together from “all sides of Brooklyn.”
“Folks who were inspired to give their time decided to come and hug the B.R.O. space and give their talents, their energy, their love and their compassion to do for others who need it. Not only did they do that creatively, they did it in community,” he said. “They were able to connect with some of the young men who are part of our different programs.”
The foundation’s event was one of several hosted by 2026 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize recipients, highlighting the role of local nonprofits in shaping community-based solutions.
“Working with Brooklyn Org was flat out amazing!” Cooper, a volunteer with the B.R.O Experience, said. “The ideas and the ways they love supporting non-profits in Brooklyn, giving us access to such a wealth of information and of financial resources that they support us with, has been amazing and it has allowed us to impact a number of young men in Brooklyn.”
Brooklyn Org officials said they plan to continue expanding volunteer opportunities and partnerships, urging residents to remain engaged beyond a single day of service.
More information about future volunteer opportunities can be found on Brooklyn Org’s website.
