Acts of volunteerism nearly exceeded the need between two outreach events presented by United Way of Hancock County and the Findlay Ministerial Association during the last week in April.
United Way of Hancock County coordinated the 21st annual Days of Caring event from April 27 to May 1. Each year, United Way recruits teams of volunteers from local businesses and companies to contribute four hours a day helping local nonprofit organizations with projects they may not otherwise be able to complete.
This year’s Days of Caring resulted in 1,075 volunteers completing 375 projects for 30 local organizations. The volunteers worked a total of 4,300 hours, providing nonprofit organizations in Hancock County with labor worth $92,278. The dollar figure is based on the most recent Ohio volunteer hourly dollar value of $21.46 per hour. The dollar amount is provided by Independent Sector, the leadership network for nonprofits, foundations, and corporations committed to advancing the common good.
“We had another record-breaking year during Days of Caring,’” said Beverly Phillips, community services director for United Way of Hancock County. “Our volunteers completed projects for schools, churches and nonprofit organizations. Volunteerism was at an all-time high last week.”
Projects included; taking inventory of supplies, preparing agency mailings, landscaping, painting inside and out, as well as cleaning and mulching trails for local parks and nonprofit campgrounds, preparing community gardens for planting, cleaning nonprofit vehicles and buses, washing windows, shredding, washing kennels, and cleaning churches. Visit United Way of Hancock County’s Facebook page for photos of Days of Caring.
The Saturday prior to Days of Caring, 1,421 volunteers completed 242 projects through the Findlay Ministerial Association’s Backyard Mission Trip. Projects were, for the most part, helping individuals in the community with projects in and around the home. The volunteers represented 35 church congregations and three additional agencies in Hancock County.
“United Way and the Findlay Ministerial Association have worked together for the past three years to coordinate these events back-to-back. It has grown into an outstanding collective effort that serves a great cross-section of the community,” said John Urbanski, president and CEO of United Way of Hancock County.