Over 1000 volunteers spread out across the Region on Friday, August 5 to help complete projects for dozens of nonprofits as part of United Way of Northwest Indiana’s Annual Day of Caring.
Public parks, animal rescue services, education centers, women’s shelters, and many, many, more organizations all received helping hands in what United Way calls Northwest Indiana’s single largest day of volunteerism.
Participants in communities ranging from Gary all the way out to La Porte landscaped, painted, weeded, cleaned floors, cared for dogs, and much more throughout the day.
“Today is about the 43 nonprofits being helped and the vibrant, critical work they do,” said Adam O’Doherty, president and CEO of United Way of Northwest Indiana. “We want to showcase just how much volunteering can do to help support these agencies. To see over 1000 people come out, that’s just amazing. We want to see this not just today, but throughout the year.”
Nonprofits typically have a mountain of tasks to handle – and rarely enough manpower to manage them all. Clearing out the checklist helps those organizations focus on their missions and continue delivering essential services to Region residents. At Lakeshore PAWS, a no-kill dog rescue and adoption center, dozens of volunteers helped clear out expired food from the pantry, clean dirt and dog fur out of vans and kennels, and pack kibble to be given to families fostering dogs.
“I am just beside myself, I’ve never seen so many people wanting to help us before,” said Jeanne Sommer, founder of Lakeshore PAWS. “It’s going to make a huge impact, especially now that we’re getting ready to have a couple shipments of dogs come in. All the shelters across the U.S., especially locally are getting slammed, and this helps our staff and core volunteers spend much-needed time with the dogs. It’s just so heartwarming to see.”
Jeff Strack, CEO of Strack & Van Til and board president for United Way of Northwest Indiana, addressed a crowd of volunteers during a breakfast gathering at Valpo Parks’ Fairgrounds Park to officially kick the day off.
“The projects we’re working on today, no matter how big or small, make an important impact – you can’t forget that,” he said. “We’ve got 1000 volunteers supporting over 70 projects for more than 40 organizations. That’s just one example of our community coming together to make a difference here in Northwest Indiana and continuing to make it a better place to live.”
After breakfast, teams of parents and children scoured Fairgrounds Park and picked up any trash they could find – there’s no age limit to making a difference.
“Having a day like this where we can go out and help all these other organizations is so powerful,” said Dr. Brent Lakia, owner of Vale Park Animal Hospital. “It helps us to remember, through all our blessings, that there are needs in this community and that we need to go and help. Having this many people come out and take part really showcases the strength, character, and compassion of this community.”
Another team of volunteers visited Art Barn School of Art, which offers programming, events, and coordinates outreach to promote the arts in Northwest Indiana. One of its current programs is a collaboration with Opportunity Enterprises, where they provide a 13-week art class to adults with developmental disabilities. Their facility, while beautiful, requires a steady amount of upkeep which the volunteers were happy to provide: landscaping, weeding, organizing materials, painting and varnishing aging furniture, and much more.
“I’m astounded by everyone’s generosity, to come out here and do this work,” said Amy Davis Navardauskas, executive director at Art Barn. “With the 69 acres of land that we have here, there’s just so much to handle. We really rely on these volunteer days to knock a lot of this work out, so we’re eternally grateful to these crews. It really allows me and my staff, throughout the rest of the year, to focus on administering our programs and making things happen.”
To learn more about United Way of Northwest Indiana and to see further volunteer opportunities throughout the Region, visit unitedwaynwi.org.
