MILL CREEK — Rain couldn’t stop hope.
Under drizzly skies, volunteers ventured out in droves Saturday for the second annual Day of Hope. They fanned out to dozens of spots around Mill Creek and Silver Lake to spruce up school grounds, pretty up parks and take on yard work for disabled, widowed and elderly neighbors.
The one-day community service blitz was organized by the Hope Creek Charitable Foundation.
“We got all soaked, but that’s all right,” said Jessica Dietsch, a board member with the foundation. “We do outreach all year round, but this day in particular we picked to just go out and flood the community with volunteers.”
Hope Creek started five years ago. Originally affiliated with Gold Creek Community Church, the nonprofit is now its own entity.
The church remains a major sponsor and hosted activities on Saturday, including free haircuts, manicures and car washes.
An estimated 800 volunteers participated last weekend, Dietsch said. That’s more than double the turnout for the inaugural Day of Hope a year earlier.
In preparing this time around, organizers tried to enlist volunteers from other organizations and advertised more actively on social media.
“We went to local businesses and local churches and asked them if they wanted to be part of the day,” Dietsch said.
They did.
Last weekend’s projects included a clean-up at the Veterans Monument in Mill Creek and painting walls at Snohomish County’s McCollum Park pool. Girl Scouts handed out free sack lunches.
The next Day of Hope isn’t until 2017, but the foundation maintains ongoing programs including one to feed homeless people in Everett and another to provide schoolchildren with lunches for the weekends.
The foundation has planned a free dental day Oct. 8, at Gold Creek Community Church on 4326 148th St. SE in Mill Creek.
Dental services will be available to patients who have no dental insurance and no reasonable way to pay for treatment. Two or three dental vans are expected to show up. Nearby dental offices also have committed to joining in.
For updates, check www.hopecreekcf.org.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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