News Release
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Media Contact: Fritz Ward
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Santa Rosa, CA (September 13, 2007) – 1,000 volunteers turned out for United Way’s 17th Annual Day of Caring yesterday. Volunteers worked on 84 projects for 42 local agencies. Each year, volunteers fan out over Sonoma and Mendocino counties meeting the needs of local agencies and citizens.
“Day of Caring makes a tremendous difference in lives of thousands of people throughout our community. This year, more than 6,000 hours of labor were donated, valued at more than $110,000,” explained United Way President and CEO Walter Collins.
Day of Caring allows volunteers to experience first-hand the needs in our community and then roll-up their sleeves and help. The experience, starting with the morning rally and concluding with a project well-done, leaves volunteers feeling energized and deeply connected to their community. The event is also a kickoff for the annual United Way campaign.
Some of this year’s projects included:
* Painting classrooms at Kids Street Learning Center.
* Landscaping and painting at The Sonoma County Museum.
* Gardening and feeding the animals at the Human Society Forget Me Not Farm.
* Renovating Cypress School Playground for United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay.
* Yard work and repairs at Giffen House, a transitional home for women and children.
* Building a fence and installing windows at Committee on the Shelterless.
Day of Caring Sponsors: Agilent Technologies, City of Santa Rosa, Clover Stornetta Farms, County of Sonoma, G&G Supermarket, Hansel Auto Group, Lafranchi Architecture and Development, Press Democrat, Redwood Credit Union, Savings Bank of Mendocino, Sonoma Bank, Sonoma County Office of Education, Starbucks Store #640, State Farm Insurance, TV50, Wal-Mart of Ukiah, and Wells Fargo.
For more information about United Way’s Day of Caring, contact Fritz Ward at 528-4485 x120.
For 40 years, United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake has continued to mobilize people in the community to help tackle issues collectively rather than individually. United Way creates, leads and supports initiatives that bring measurable improvement to the lives of our community’s most vulnerable residents. We work to addresses the underlying causes of critical problems in four main areas -- Supporting Youth Development, Strengthening Families, Maintaining Senior Independence and Resolving Crises -- with the goal of creating lasting change. Throughout our work, we partner with government, businesses, community-based nonprofits and others in order to accomplish more than any one organization working alone. For more information, visit us online at www.uwsml.org.
