More than 1,500 volunteers logged approximately 9,000 volunteer hours during this year's 18th annual NIPSCO Day of Caring. To see photos, visit United Way's Facebook page.
Following is the news release:
Approximately 1,500 volunteers are heading out into the community Thursday, August 12 for the 18th annual United Way Day of Caring. Teams from about 45 local businesses, organizations and organized labor are rolling up their sleeves and working on about 55 service projects throughout the Fort Wayne area. NIPSCO is the signature sponsor for this year’s Day of Caring.
The day kicks off with a breakfast at Headwaters Park WEST at 7:30 a.m. During the breakfast, volunteers will gather to learn about the service projects and how they impact the area as well as learn about the work of United Way of Allen County.
“Day of Caring is such a great tradition here in Fort Wayne,” says Ron Turpin, board chair for United Way of Allen County. “For 18 years, local residents have been reaching out and helping neighbors and non-profits – those who could not do the work or afford to have it done. This year, we have more volunteers than we’ve had for the last several years and there’s a real energy to Day of Caring.”
United Way’s Day of Caring gets volunteers directly involved in improving the community. This year, Day of Caring has a LIVE UNITED theme; everyone working together to build a better community. Projects will include cleaning, painting and landscaping at non-profit agencies; private residences screened by NeighborLink; and child care centers, after-school youth program sites and schools.
Following are some suggested locations for photo opportunities/interviews:
Washing Red Cross and CTN vehicles:
BF Goodrich/USW Local 715 will wash Red Cross vehicles and Community Transportation Network vans that transport seniors or residents with disabilities to medical appointments. The CTN work will take place at 2701 Coliseum Blvd. and the Red Cross work will take place at 1212 E. California Rd.
Helping Childcare:
GE has three teams at three Early Childhood Alliance sites, 516 E. Wayne St., 2125 Beacon St. and 3320 Fairfield Ave. Teams will do the important work of sanitizing toys and supplies, washing windows and landscaping.
Landscaping Hospice:
ITT/IUE-CWA Local 999 will be landscaping the grounds at Visiting Nurse & Hospice, 5910 Homestead Rd.
Painting & Landscaping a Village:
Summit Reinsurance, Lutheran Health Network and O’Daniel Automotive will paint, landscape and do a variety of chores on the homes of Vincent Village, including that at 2827 Holton Ave.
Cleaning Up for Kids:
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions will spruce up and landscape around the Southeast Family YMCA, 5125 Werling Dr.
Sprucing Up the Army:
UPS/Teamsters Local 414 will landscape and clean up around the Salvation Army, 2901 N. Clinton St.
Pitching in for Education:
The Bair CPA Group and Heritage High School Cheerleaders will paint, landscape and clean Nebraska Elementary, 1525 Boone St.
Brightening Spaces for Children:
Do it Best, Corp. will paint several rooms at SCAN, 500 W. Main St.
Making it Feel Like Home:
Fort Wayne Newspapers and Fifth Third Bank will landscape and spruce up the play area at Genesis House, 2605 Gay St.
Making Safety a Priority:
OmniSource will clean up the grounds around Safety Village, 1270 S. Phoenix Pkwy.
