If you happen to see a sea of blinding yellow shirts on April 19 and 20, you'll know that the 2007 Days of Caring are in full swing. This year's annual Days of Caring will be occurring during National Volunteer Week, which is April 15-21. Days of Caring, which has traditionally been held in October, was changed to April this year to assist non-profit agencies with Spring-time projects. There are currently 57 projects lined up to be completed by corporate work teams.
Each year, during Days of Caring, hundreds of volunteers from local companies and organizations make a difference at local non-profit agencies by completing much needed projects. Last year, 300 volunteers worked 1202 hours, providing non-profit organizations in Hancock County with labor worth $21,684. The dollar figure is based on the 2006 national volunteer hourly dollar value of $18.04 per hour.
"We chose the theme 'Lean on Me' because we feel that it reflects what we want to accomplish with this year's Days of Caring. We want the area's non-profit agencies to know that they can lean on volunteers to complete those much needed projects," said Candee Mackell, this year's Days of Caring chairperson. This is the second year that Mackell has chaired the event.
National Volunteer Week began in 1974, when President Richard Nixon signed an executive order establishing an annual celebration of volunteering. Every president since has signed a proclamation promoting the week. "It's easy to overlook the importance of volunteers because they rarely sing their own praises; yet they change so many lives," said Robert K. Goodwin, President & CEO of the Points of Light Foundation. "National Volunteer Week is a way of saying 'Thank you!' to the selfless men, women, and young people who embody the American spirit of caring for one another."
The United Way of Hancock County's Volunteer Center encourages volunteerism by utilizing the 1-800-VOLUNTEER.org website as a powerful tool to help recruit, expand and manage volunteers. To access the website, go to www.uwhancock.org and click on "Volunteer." The site allows volunteers to be automatically matched up with opportunities in the community that meet with their interests and skills while assisting organizations with finding the volunteers needed. The service is free for both volunteers and agencies seeking volunteers and is provided by the United Way of Hancock County.
Individuals interested in volunteering should visit the website and follow the directions for setting up an account or call the United Way. Organizations interested in registering an account must also go to the website. Approval will be sent via email before opportunities, events, and activities can be posted. The mission of the United Way Volunteer Services is to foster the commitment of volunteerism in Findlay and Hancock County. All area non-profit organizations are encouraged to take advantage of www.1-800-volunteer.org . For additional information contact the
United Way at 419-423-1432 or Bev Phillips at bphillips@uwhancock.org.
