United Way’s Week of Caring Kicks Off Monday

Published June 4, 2011 By Sue Guinn Legg - Press Staff Writer United Way organizations across the region will join forces this week for their 19th annual Week of Caring, a volunteer blitz that last year put an estimated 1,300 United Way supporters to work in more than 100 service projects for United Way supported service agencies in each of the Tri-Cities and Scott and Russell counties in Virginia.   Sponsored by Regions Bank, the event was first held in 1992, beginning with a single day of volunteering in which companies and workers who contribute to the annual United Way campaigns in their communities went to work at the nonprofit health and human service agencies their contributions support.   Lester Lattany, president and CEO of the United Way of Washington County, said the Week of Caring projects offer campaign contributors an opportunity to find out first-hand the quality of services the agencies provide. Involving participating employees and companies in the hands-on projects at the agencies also allows individuals a chance to invest their time and skills in improving the agencies and their ability to serve the community, increases their understanding of community needs, renews their willingness to support the agencies through their campaign contributions and builds company pride.   This year’s Week of Caring projects will kick off Monday with Regions employees, board members and staff from the United Way organizations in each of the Tri-Cities and representatives from United Way partner agencies putting in a day’s work at the Feeding America Food Bank in Abingdon, Va. Activities lined up for the project include painting the food bank’s exterior and landscaping its grounds, inspecting, sorting and bagging donated food items, preparing food for a soup kitchen and packing food backpacks for schoolchildren who do not have enough to eat at home.   Monday’s workday also will signal the mobilization of volunteer teams representing companies, employees, students and teachers, cities, towns and other community-minded groups for the benefit of the multiple community service agencies and the people they assist. In Johnson City, this year’s projects will include a sports-themed party for clients of Adult Day Services provided by employees of the Target store, a “Day of Play” at the Boys and Girls Club on West Market Street made possible by Eastman Chemical Co. and Bank of Tennessee employees and a picnic for seniors at the Salvation Army hosted by volunteers from Citi in Gray.   Volunteers from General Shale Brick have lined up an entire roster of Week of Caring projects, including beautifying the outdoor area of Adult Day Services and installing ceiling fans in the center’s kitchen, yard work and floor repairs at the home of two elderly clients of the First Tennessee Human Resource Agency’s Family Support Services program and demolishing an outbuilding at the Boys & Girls Club. Siemens and its employees will build a new roof on the bathhouse at the Girl Scouts’ camp. A team of workers from Atmos Energy will landscape at Frontier Health’s Adventure Program.   While the bulk of this year’s Week of Caring projects will be held Monday through Saturday, the projects actually start in advance of the weeklong event and continue throughout the summer. Among the early starters, another group of volunteers from Citi turned out last week for their annual preseason cleanup at Frontier’s Greenwood Challenge rope course. Susan Creek with the United Way of Washington County (Tenn.) said several Week of Caring project requests remain unfilled and available for companies or individual supporters wish to join in, this week or at some future date that better fits their schedule. For more information about Week of Caring activities or to volunteer, call the United Way at 282-5682.