The United Way’s Week of Caring has hosts of volunteers working on projects for a non-profits and organizations throughout their communities.
In Carter County, that meant plenty of organizing, cleaning, landscaping and partying.
And Scrubby Bear.
The United Way of Elizabethton/Carter County arranged for a troupe of volunteers to help out with many of the organizations the local agency supports or partners with on a regular basis.
Among them:
• Employees from Carter County Bank volunteered at the Adult Day Care Center and hosted a 1960s-themed party for members;
• A crew of Eastman employees largely from Carter County spent the day completing multiple projects at the Elizabethton Senior Citizens Center;
• The Carter County Red Cross hosted an informational session with Scrubby Bear for preschool readers about proper handwashing techniques; and
• Contact Ministries received donations of copy paper and desk mats from Pine Ridge Rehab Center.
“I would say this Week of Caring has been a success,” said United Way Director Debbie Guy. “Everything went well and we had great participation from the agencies. The Week of Caring is a great opportunity for individuals in the community to see what the agencies provide and to get out and get involved.”
Senior Center Director Kathy Dula said the volunteer group was a big help for her organization.
Volunteers organized and cleaned the center’s storage closets, pantry and kitchen, installed a new birdbath, landscaped by adding mulch and planting new flowers and painted the center’s sign.
“They are doing a lot of the work that we cannot do,” Dula said. “A lot of the projects, like mulching, raking and the heavy lifting, we just don’t have the manpower to take care of the projects. They are doing things that we could never get done without their help.”
The volunteers worked at the center from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and were treated to breakfast and lunch by the Senior Center as a ‘thank you’ for their work.
Regions Bank was the regional sponsor for the 2014 Week of Caring.