Volunteer With New York City Platoon

The New York Platoon has four operations focused on supporting communities in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens. Since late 2014 and early 2015, our volunteers have collaborated with their communities to reimagine and reinvent spaces and places; strengthening the connections between the people and places they share to support an evolution of what the community is known for. Brooklyn has many under-resourced communities that have had struggles with gang violence and crime in the past but residents and community members are working to change the perception. The Brooklyn Operation has been collaborating with other nonprofits to help change that perception and strengthen the community connection. We have partnered with NYC Parks, GreenThumb, and our local gardeners in East New York to make our community gardens better. Some of the recent service projects include our Earth Day project in East New York that supported local community gardens as community members and gardeners prepare for the growing season. The Bronx Operation's focus is on environmental restoration and preservation to support improvements along the waterfront and underused green spaces in the South Bronx area. We also support cultural enrichment opportunities throughout the Bronx that enable high-quality public space availability within walking distance of residents’ homes. We partner with community non-profit organizations and local leaders to fortify the city’s aging infrastructure, rehabilitate parks, and cultivate the various community gardens and green spaces throughout our neighborhoods. Partners include Rincon Criollo Community Garden, Bronx Sunshine Garden, and The Bronx County Historical Society, The Manhattan Operation is focused on building green and civic spaces available to residents throughout Manhattan's Lower East Side. Every fourth Saturday of each month during 2023, rain or shine until the end of the year holiday season, you can help plant gardens, construct planters, build workspaces for arts and crafts, create community spaces, and much more. We are partnering with the Lower Eastside Girls Club to realize its vision of being a resource for all the neighbors and neighborhoods it serves. The Queens operation is rebuilding its volunteer base and seeking out new opportunities with community partners. Being "green" is the main focus of the operation, whether it be “reduce, reuse, or recycle” and to seek out the numerous urban farms and assist their needs by supplying the surrounding communities with locally grown nutritious food. We continue to build upon our partnerships with Big Reuse, Coastal Preservation Network, Red Hook Farms Composting Program, Rusty Wheel Barrow Farm, Woodside Sunnyside Composting, Food Bank For New York City, and Queens Botanical Garden.