CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Wednesday many who typically wear a suit or a dress to work will show up in work boots, jeans and a t-shirt.
The United Way of Central West Virginia will have its annual Day of Caring with projects in all five of the counties they serve.
“We have 70 businesses, 58 projects, and 620 live, in person volunteers to go work,” said Margaret O’Neal, president of the United Way of Central West Virginia.
This will be the 16th year for the event. The 15th year, like most things, was heavily impacted by Covid 19. The organization staged a virtual day of caring, but it just wasn’t the same. O’Neal said even the most menial tasks this year will be a huge lift to the non-profit groups.
O’Neal says it will be for things like a fresh coat of paint or just pulling weeds from the landscaping has been an afterthought as the organizations have been trying to keep the lights on, doors open, and patrons served amid the pandemic.
“For organizations to have an opportunity to be served for one day, save them the money and expense they would use to paint that themselves with their time and their team, is just awesome. We couldn’t be more excited and really happy,” O’Neal said.
United Way of Central West Virginia serves the needy in a five county region, Kanawha, Putnam, Boone, Logan, and Clay Counties. Projects are slated in all of those, although the biggest concentration will be in Kanawha County which has the biggest non-profit concentration.
A lot of businesses put teams of volunteers together to do the work on a single day. Instead of raising money, the employee volunteers put sweat equity into giving back to the community.
“It’s exposure to the business community, we like people to know we give back,” O’Neal said.
O’Neal added it’s too late to register for one of the projects for this year’s Day of Caring, but there is plenty of need and any organization or businesses wanting to engage in a volunteer work day only needs to contact her office at 304-340-3500. They’ll make it happen at a variety of organizations which fit the needs and skill set of any company’s personnel.