Day of Caring: ‘Every day is a good day to give back’

Ann Phelps was an aerospace worker turned field hand for a day, muscling old metal fence posts out of the ground.

Margarita Zamora de Lopez has a parts receiving job, but spent Friday with a paintbrush in hand.

And rather than his usual work in shipping, Alberto Duarte toiled in the sun to remove and fix old fencing.

All three are employees of Damar Aerosystems, a division of Senior Aerospace, in Monroe. On Friday, they were part of a volunteer force of about 500 people helping with United Way of Snohomish County’s Days of Caring.

“This is hard work,” said Sara Haner, United Way’s communications and events manager, as she watched the Damar team paint, repair and clean up at All Breed Equine Rez-Q, a Tulalip area horse rescue center.

“You guys are heaven-sent,” said Dale Squeglia, president of the nonprofit that now shelters 20 animals — horses, miniature horses and donkeys — on 18 acres leased from the Marsyville School District.

Squeglia, who lives on the property, said most of the animals have been given up by owners who can’t care for them. “The majority are not adoptable,” Squeglia said. All Breed Equine Rez-Q is a sanctuary where she hopes most of the animals will live out their lives. The nonprofit is always in need of volunteers for chores that may include working with horses or doing maintenance on buildings and fences.

This year’s 22nd annual Days of Caring, Friday and Saturday, included 38 teams helping with 28 projects in 11 cities around Snohomish County, Haner said.

Those projects included exterior cleanup and planting at the Boys &Girls Club in Granite Falls; work with EarthCorps on wetlands at Union Slough in Everett and Edmonds Marsh; and helping Friends of the Olde Everett Train Station with planting, painting and maintenance at Depot Park near the former station on Bond Street.

“This is one of the favorite events we do. It speaks to the heart of United Way,” Haner said. Days of Caring helpers, she said, exemplify a slogan the organization uses: “When you reach out a hand to one, you influence the condition of all.”

At All Breed Equine Rez-Q, on 116th Street NE near the Washington State Patrol district headquarters, painted fences are the work of United Way volunteers in previous years. On Friday, Zamora de Lopez and co-workers Rose Thomas and Suzanne Romero gave a fresh coat of white paint to stall-like structures Squeglia described as “cross ties,” or places where horses are groomed.

“This is different from our jobs. We get to talk to each other,” Zamora de Lopez said.

In a field away from the road, Phelps used a heavy jack-like device to dislodge old fence posts from the dirt. At her real job in Monroe, the Gold Bar woman uses air tools for deburring parts that include airplane wing skins. Friday was her first time volunteering with Days of Caring, but she has been involved with other groups that help animals.

Monroe’s Lori Stickland doesn’t work for Damar Aerosystems, but was at the horse rescue center helping with a friend who does. She was hauling piles of weeds to a compost area.

Noting that Friday was the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she recalled “I was just getting ready for work when that happened.” Now, Strickland said, Sept. 11 is “a good day to give back.”

“Every day is a good day to give back,” she said.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Learn more

All Breed Equine Rez-Q is a nonprofit horse rescue organization that shelters about 20 horses and donkeys on 18 acres leased from the Marysville School District at 2415 116th St. NE, Marysville. To volunteer or for more information: www.allbreedhorserescue.com or 425-263-6390.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.