Volunteers tackle list of Day of Caring projects
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, September 13, 2001
We’re all familiar with "the list" — it’s comprised of those nagging projects that we never seem to have the time, the money or the energy to tackle. Weeding, painting, repairing drywall, sorting clothes, fixing broken window screens — projects far too easily back burnered in favor of a lazy afternoon on a porch swing or the lure of a televised Mariner game. Along with the rest of us, non-profit organizations have those kinds of "honey-do" projects on their lists too, with never enough resources to meet the ever-growing demand.
Thankfully, there are over a thousand folks in our community who will step up today to help knock off some of those projects in the largest one-day volunteer mobilization event held annually in Snohomish County. Day of Caring, an event celebrating its ninth year, is coordinated through United Way.
Fortified by a morning rally at Everett Memorial Stadium, the revved up teams will venture out into the community assigned to non-profit organizations. Eighty companies and organizations will field 98 teams tackling 88 different projects. These are hefty numbers — but the one that’s perhaps the most impressive is the $830,000 in volunteer labor that has been donated locally over the past eight years.
Sporting their colorful Day of Caring t-shirts, volunteers will donate their time and elbow grease to paint, landscape, repair and build. Along the way, they’ll foster camaraderie and build teamwork — valuable skills they can take with them back to the workplace. An added benefit is the opportunity for the non-profit to share their message and the value their presence brings to enhancing the quality of life in our community.
A special thank you to the volunteers who will head home this evening and lower them selves carefully into hot baths and easy chairs. After gingerly applying tubes of Ben Gay ointment, they can rest knowing they’ve eased a small burden for many of our local non-profit organizations. Certainly a fresh coat of paint and newly spread beauty bark won’t change the world — but, it’s a nice place to start.
