Thanksgiving came early for RXR’s volunteer efforts

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Then came COVID, adding a sense of urgency to the plan.

So in April, the Uniondale-based company launched RXR Volunteer, a hub for those who wanted to help and those who needed it.

Since then, RXR Volunteer has assisted more than 200 small businesses and nonprofits, including a few dozen on Long Island, in providing technical knowledge and ideas to survive the health crisis and keep their doors open.

The skills-based help comes from a 300-member volunteer squad, who either work for RXR, are business partners, or are tenants at one of the company’s many properties in and around the New York area.

Whether it’s counseling businesses on how to get federal loans, personal protective equipment, assistance with budgeting, human resources, social media or web design, RXR’s initiative matches up its experts with those needing a hand.

“If we can use our relationships to help businesses and nonprofits in need, that’s another way we can help the community,” says David Garten, senior vice president for environmental, social and governance for RXR Realty.

David Gise, project lead for RXR Volunteer, said the program has worked with a mix of for-profits and nonprofit organizations.

“We’ve helped nail salons, clothing stores, restaurants, the Salvation Army and the United Way,” Gise said. “We’re working with the smallest of businesses on up.”

One of the initial goals of the volunteer effort was to give an assist to the communities where RXR has developments, such as Glen Cove and New Rochelle. But it has since evolved, reaching out to businesses and nonprofits throughout the New York area. RXR Volunteer has formed partnerships with Westchester County, the Partnership for New York City and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, among others.

RXR volunteers assisted the Salvation Army to raise money with a virtual event to address food and housing insecurity on Long Island, raising $45,000 over their fundraising goal. Another RXR volunteer rebuilt the website for the LGBT Network of Long Island for free and other RXR volunteers assisted Gourmet Your Way, a food truck business, to pivot its business model into a mobile delivery operation to weather the massive economic change, while creating a new website and digital sales solution.

“It’s been a difficult year for everybody, but we’ve seen a silver lining in the compassion of regular Long Islanders like the volunteers we connected with through RXR’s platform,” Major Soo Kim, corps officer for the Salvation Army of Hempstead, said. “Their support has been critical in ensuring we have the resources we need to address the high level of need, for food, shelter, financial support, across the New York region during this period of crisis and recovery.”

Allison Prudente, owner and chef of the Glen Cove-based Gourmet Your Way food truck, says COVID has threatened so many small businesses.

“The help we received through RXR Volunteer has really made the difference for us,” Prudente said. “By converting our whole operations model to a contactless, mobile delivery setup, our volunteers enabled us to adapt effectively at a pivotal moment when we had no choice, but lacked the technical knowhow or financial bandwidth to do it ourselves.”

Garten says his company recognizes this is a challenging time for everyone.

“RXR has the resources to weather this storm, but it’s small businesses and nonprofits who are having trouble getting through this.” he said. “They make up the soul of these suburban communities and if they fail, they may never come back. We want to make sure we do what we can to get through this crisis together.”