The United Way Estevan is making its final preparations in advance of its annual Day of Caring on May 30.
Wendy Gustafson, who chairs the Day of Caring committee, said the United Way is pleased with the response from the community. They have received requests for more than 40 projects, and between 130 and 140 volunteers have already stepped forward to complete those projects.
“We have increased every year,” said Gustafson. “Since we have had the records from 2015, 2016 and 2017, we have bumped up in volunteers and projects.”
Many of the volunteers are employees of local businesses who are being allowed to assist the Day of Caring by their employers.
Projects for the Day of Caring in the past have included painting, washing walls, completing yard work and fixing fences. Some people have volunteered by visiting at a long-term care facility.
Gustafson noted that many of the people who apply for help through the Day of Caring are those who donate to the United Way’s telethon in October each year.
The deadline to submit a project or to volunteer has passed, but Gustafson said the United Way would accept applications until May 24, because that is when projects will be assigned to the volunteers.
The United Way has been making changes to the Day of Caring each year to allow it to run smoother. Among the changes for this year will be site visits for the projects prior to May 30, so that the United Way knows the scope of the projects and the tools that will needed.
“If they have the stuff, then that’s great,” said Gustafson. “But if we need to bring tools, then we need to know what we’re bringing. We are going to get a good handle on how many people they need at that project, and we’re going to try to sort all that out.”
The project managers will also help with communication between the different sites.
“There’s a lot of pre-work that goes into it, but every year, after the Day of Caring, we get together and we go over what went well, and what we need to improve, and every year we’re working on improving it, and I think we have a pretty good handle on it this year.”
There will also be a barbecue at the Estevan Alliance Church at 11:30 a.m. A silver collection will be taken to offset costs associated with organizing the Day of Caring.
