Greeter Rob Gould and Visitors from France
Photo by Kaeela Mitchell
During
the early, cold days of 2011, Greeter Rob Gould contacted the Big Apple
Greeter office with quite a warm and sunny proposal. He wanted to
celebrate his birthday on August 2 by conducting several Greets during
the day, while asking his friends to underwrite the event by making a
donation to Big Apple Greeter.
Rob’s enthusiasm and drive combined with his ability to think outside
the box, helped create our first ever Greet-A-Thon. Not only did
Rob’s friends and family support the event, but many of his fellow
volunteers and Big Apple Greeter donors lent their support to this
inaugural event.
During the day, Rob met with a family from France, a young woman from
Australia, and a father and daughter duo from Missouri, a true
cross-section of the visitors that Big Apple Greeter meets with
throughout the year. Rob was eager to share his knowledge and love of
New York City with them all on this steamy August day, and he provided
each visitor with a personal, one-on-one introduction to the
City. “I loved showing the city off as my home.” said Rob.
With each Greet,
Rob covered different sections of Manhattan, showing the visitors some
of his favorite neighborhoods, while sharing facts and stories along
the way. He led one group north through the bustling morning rush
of midtown, pointing out landmarks along the way to Central Park.
Next Rob headed south to show the second group the Flatiron District,
and while walking over to Greenwich Village, he discussed the
residential history, recounting the creation of townhouses and their
significance in New York City. Walking westward, Rob pointed out
restaurants and shops worthy of a return trip. And during the
last Greet, he shared his knowledge of the décor and design inside the
Grand Central Terminal, before walking around Murray Hill. Rob’s
afternoon visitors were thrilled with the opportunity to get to “know
the real New York through a real New Yorker.”
At the of end the day, Rob and his visitors joined friends, family, Big
Apple Greeter board members, staff and volunteers at a restaurant and
bar in Midtown South to wish him a happy birthday. When speaking
to his visitors, it was clear that Rob’s passion and commitment to both
New York City and Big Apple Greeter was palpable and infectious
throughout the day.
We are very grateful to Rob for his gracious offer to use his birthday
as an opportunity to raise money for Big Apple Greeter, and we are
delighted to say that the event was a rousing success. Hopefully it
will be the beginning of many more Greet-A-Thons in the future. Rob
reflected, “If other Greeters want to do this, I strongly suggest it;
it means getting all your friends and family involved to make your
birthday not just a celebration but a connection with new friends from
all over the world.”
If
you are interested in learning how you can participate in this program,
please contact Alison Brooks at abrooks@bigapplegreeter.org.
