United Way’s Volunteer Center recruiting volunteers for six local projects

United Way’s Volunteer Center, a HandsOn Affiliate Center, is working to recruit groups of volunteers for two projects in north Georgia for the 23rd Annual Day of Caring on Thursday, Sept. 13.

The Day of Caring is an annual event celebrated by United Ways and Volunteer Centers nationwide.

“Day of caring projects provide a great opportunity for employee teams to not only give something back to the community, but also to promote team building and strengthen a business’s presence in the community,” said Sheila Moore, executive director of United Way’s Center for Nonprofits, of which the Volunteer Center is a part. This year’s event also ties in with the nationwide “9/11 Day of Remembrance and Service,” an event focused on turning tragedy into triumph by honoring the victims of the 9/11 tragedy and their families by voluntarily engaging in charitable service in observance of the anniversary.

On Sept. 13, hundreds of volunteers from local businesses and communities will partner with United Way’s Volunteer Center to serve local neighborhoods through work on community-based projects. The Volunteer Center has been recruiting volunteers for 35 different projects to take place throughout the region on this day.

The Volunteer Center still needs the community’s help to find groups of volunteers for two of these projects in north Georgia, where willing volunteers can create impact in just one day.

These projects include tornado clean-up at the Boy Scout meeting hall in Trenton, Ga., and renovations and construction at Heartland/Spirit Horse Therapeutic Riding Center in Flintstone, for individuals with developmental and physical disabilities.

The Volunteer Center draws its volunteers for the day from area corporations and organizations that put together teams to work on the projects of their choice. Teams are preferred for these activities because groups of 10 or more are usually needed in order to complete the work in one day.

Last year, more than 300 volunteers worked on almost 30 different projects ranging from improvement projects at area nonprofits to installing playgrounds at low-income day care centers or rebuilding public park spaces. This year’s Day of Caring is sponsored by Ace Hardware, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and T.G.I. Fridays.

You can volunteer your corporate, church or civic team for a project by calling Windy Brooks at United Way’s Volunteer Center at 423-752-0316. You can also receive more information about other available projects by emailing windybrooks@uwchatt.org or calling the center at 423-752-0316.