VOLUNTEERS COME TOGETHER AS ONE FOR DAY OF CARING

Martha Skelton said it’s only been done because of it. Jai Hinson said they couldn’t afford the improvements without it. And volunteers from Publix said it meant so much for them to do it.

So what is it? United Way’s annual volunteer Day of Caring.

Day of Caring is a volunteer day held every October with United Ways across the country. Teams from more than 100 businesses and organizations participate to assist local non-profits with 130 different projects. With more than 2,200 volunteers doing everything from mulching to conducting mock interviews, this skills-based volunteerism goes a long way to support non-profit agencies throughout Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. Collectively, more than $222,000* of volunteer support was provided at Day of Caring.

Skelton, the director of Community Pride Childcare Center in Clearwater, said, “It would take us months to do the work these volunteers are doing in one day. I’ve been here for every one of the 17 Days of Caring, and it grows every year.”

Jai Hinson, Founder of Life Force Academy, a multi-arts cultural center, said the financial impact is evident.

“We needed significant computer upgrades. We priced it out and it would have cost $1,500. And we simply couldn’t afford it.” That’s where the Tampa Bay Rays Information Technology Department stepped in. Through software upgrades and virus protection, the Rays provided Day of Caring support that resulted in no cost to the academy.

The work is evident. Just look at locations across the Bay area, and see people in LIVE UNITED shirts. Publix employees buffed floors, and scrubbed and cleaned the game room at a Suncoast Boys and Girls Club in Pinellas Park. Another group of Publix employees painted and landscaped at Community Pride.

Hinson said the shirts signify something bigger than us all. “The Tampa Bay Rays and United Way not only wore the LIVE UNITED shirts (to promote Day of Caring). They were definitely living it.”

Do you want to know how you can live the shirt? Visit www.volunteertampabay.com or call HandsON Tampa Bay Volunteer Manager Sue Franzen at (813) 274-0999 for more information.