While many local nonprofits rely on a volunteer base for help throughout the year, few can accomplish as much as when a crew arrives ready to work on United Way’s Day of Caring.
For the annual event, individuals and company teams pledge a day of service to organizations who request support. This year about 570 residents chipped in, building fences, painting offices and delivering gifts to nursing home patients on Friday.
The response from the nonprofits was much the same: We could not do this without you.
“It takes a community to serve a community,” said Maj. Karen Hasty of the Salvation Army, who noted the projects volunteers have completed over the years have required more hours of work than the organization could achieve on its own.
The Salvation Army was one of 34 sites — some of which had multiple projects — receiving help through the program this year.
The biggest effort of the day was at Carver Gardens, where more than 60 volunteers completed a massive neighborhood cleanup off Merrimac Trail in York County.
Liz Vestal, United Way’s initiatives manager, said the number of helpers and enormity of the project made it one of the most special for the day.
Vestal loves seeing the varied skills volunteers bring to the Day of Caring. Some excel at construction, while others are well-suited to reading to children in a Head Start classroom.
At Hospice House and Support Care of Williamsburg, the James City Service Authority used its expertise to clear out brush from the wooded area lining the property.
“We couldn’t begin to do the job that the [James City Service Authority] is doing,” Hospice House Operations Manager Jackie LeClair said Friday. “We just don’t have the wherewithal.”
The United Way event functions as a learning tool for volunteers as well, connecting them with causes in the community they might not interact with otherwise.
Before getting to work painting rocking chairs at Hospice House, the team from the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance heard a presentation about the services the nonprofit provides. Many said they were not aware of the scope of its programs not just for the sick, but for caregivers as well.
With the organization’s primary job to take care of guests at the end of life and their families, LeClair said the Day of Caring allows Hospice House to put its resources toward that purpose. The help from the United Way fills in the other needs that go into keeping the center running.
“It really is a wonderful way that the community takes care of itself,” she said.
Karen Jamison, chairwoman of the board for the Williamsburg Botanical Garden, was also grateful for the support of the volunteers on Friday.
With one part-time employee, the garden relies heavily on local support. She said the extra green thumbs on hand during the Day of Caring let them to take on more intense projects than the usual tasks. Friday’s volunteers reconstructed garden drainage.
Molly Buchanan, new to the area, signed up as an independent volunteer at Williamsburg Botanical Garden to meet other residents and give back.
“We’re just doing a little bit, but there’s obviously a lot that could be done,” Buchanan said.
Having become acquainted with the garden’s space and mission, she is now considering volunteering on a regular basis.
In that way, the Day of Caring extends beyond one date, fostering relationships that extend and grow after Friday’s service is complete.
Local Voice – the company that owns WYDaily, 92.3 The Tide and 107.9 BachFM – painted kettle stands at Salvation Army on Friday. They will be used for the Salvation Army’s kettle drive, its biggest annual fundraising campaign in the winter, and collect the money that goes to providing services all year long.
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