EVERETT — Ryan Fowler had no school Friday.
Instead, the Jackson High School senior and some of his classmates spent part of their day volunteering at Full Life adult day care in Everett.
“This is a chance to hang out and learn something new,” he said.
The center serves adults with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injuries. The teens came to help with activities and games for the center’s clients as part of a Days of Caring project.
The annual event sponsored by United Way of Snohomish County rounded up more than 1,000 volunteers to work on 67 projects on Friday and Saturday.
Many companies offer their workers a day off to participate in the Days of Caring, in order to promote community service and team-building.
At Full Life center, Misha Hall, 16, and Micaela Robinson, 15, wore signature white T-shirts with black letters spelling out “Live United.”
The Cascade High School sophomores had big smiles on their faces as they danced around, trying to encourage one group of participants to exercise.
“Seeing them happy makes it worthwhile,” Misha said.
Days of Caring teams had lots of projects to choose from throughout Snohomish County.
In Mukilteo, workers from Philips Healthcare and Snohomish County Public Utility District helped out at the Mukilteo Community Garden on Saturday. The volunteer-run garden raises fresh fruit and vegetables for food banks in Lynnwood and Mukilteo, Everett Gospel Mission, Cocoon House and a pantry at Northshore Christian Church, said Debra Bordsen, a board member at the organization.
The volunteers harvested more than 50 pounds of produce and removed stubborn weeds.
“They worked very hard on a hot day,” she said.
The team from Philips brought in a tractor to remove weeds from outside the fenced property — something the garden desperately needed but couldn’t afford.
In Marysville, three people from the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Local 183 did yard work for a man who had been disabled and left unable to do it himself, said spokesman Josh Estes.
The union represents the men and women working at Kimberly Clark.
They plan to return to the man’s home next month to do some more work.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
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