About Us

VOAGNY Map Volunteers of America is a national, faith-based human services organization that helps some of the most vulnerable men, women and children in our communities lead safe, healthy, independent and productive lives. Founded in New York City in 1896, Volunteers of America is one of the nation's oldest, largest and most respected human services organizations in the nation, serving 2,000,000 people in 400 communities in 44 states every year.

 

Volunteers of America--Greater New York is the largest affiliate of the national organization, with more than 90 programs serving 50,000 people in need each year in the metropolitan New York area, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Orange Counties, Northern New Jersey and Connecticut. We are an efficiently run organization with more than 91 cents of every dollar raised going to program services, and have been awarded the highest rating by Charity Navigator and the Better Business Burreau, so donors can rest assured their money is being used wisely.

Award-winning programs, skilled and dedicated staff, and generous corporate and individual community partners, bring relief to tens of thousands of people in need every year who are in desperate need of help. Whether it is basic needs like food and temporary shelter, or more long-term help like permanent supportive housing, Volunteers of America has the commitment, experience and relationships necessary to make an important impact on the individuals and communities we serve.

More than 1,100 professional staff, supported by hundreds of dedicated volunteers, provide high quality, comprehensive services to the widest range of people in need in the tri-state area. Services that include:
  • Transitional housing for individuals and families until permanent housing can be found.
  • Award-winning schools for young children with developmental delays.
  • Innovative permanency planning for children orphaned by parents who have died of AIDS.
  • Support for older adults preferring to"age in place" at home, as opposed to in an institution.
  • A continuum of residential services for youth in foster care.
  • Community residences and vocational programs for adults with developmental disabilities.
  • Supportive housing for formerly homeless adults and adults living with mental illness or addiction.
  • Halfway houses and other re-entry support for men returning to their communities from prison.
  • Group homes for adults with severe and persistent mental illness.
   
Many of our corporate partners know us through Operation Backpack, the largest back-to-school drive for homeless children in the tri-state area, or our holiday Gifts of the Heart, Toy Joy and Sidewalk Santa campaigns that provide presents to older adults, toys for children, and the gift of food for the holidays, to people in need.