United Way plans annual Days of Caring event
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on November 9, 2014 1:50 AM
Wayne County residents will once again pitch in to make their community a better place during United Way's annual Days of Caring.
It will be held Nov. 17-22 this year.
"We have a bunch of projects and also a couple of drives for wish lists for organizations," said Catherine LeChot, community engagement manager for United Way of Wayne County.
"This year we are partnering with the University of Mount Olive to provide volunteer activities for their freshmen introductory classes to get them more aware of volunteer opportunities in the community and get them to give back to the community they are in."
Some of this year's volunteer opportunities include:
* Meals on Wheels, Nov. 17-21. Volunteers deliver meals to shut-ins through WAGES. Volunteers meet at WAGES at 10:30 a.m. and are usually done by noon.
* Food and Fellowship at the Salvation Army's men's shelter, Nov. 17-21. Volunteers prepare and drop off meals at the shelter at 5:30 p.m. They can stay and visit with the men if they choose to.
* Book drive for Communities in Schools of Wayne County, Nov. 21-22. Drop off gently used and new books for children 15 and younger at any of the county's libraries. Books will be distributed to Wayne County schools.
* Arts and craft supply drive for the Boys and Girls of Wayne County, Nov. 17-22. Books will be used by the children who go to the club.
* Nonperishable food drive for the Salvation Army, Nov. 17-22. The Salvation Army is in need of food for the needy of Wayne County.
"Anyone or any group can have a food or supply drive," Mrs. LeChot said. "United Way will arrange to pick it up or it can be dropped off. It's great for a business whose employees can't get out during the day, but want to do something."
Mrs. LeChot said that some groups who did projects during last year's Days of Caring are volunteering to do them again this year.
"The public works department washed the WATCH mobile last year, and called to do it again this year," she said. "It's really wonderful to see those repeat volunteers who had so much fun doing it last year that they want to do it again this year and make sure they get first dibs on a project."
But there are still plenty of volunteer opportunities for anyone, Mrs. LeChot said.
United Way has been sponsoring Days of Caring for several years.
"We would like to highlight the opportunity to be the good in the community by volunteers," Mrs. LeChot said. "We like people to invest in United Way, but not everyone is able to do that, but you can give of your time by volunteering."
She said part of the benefits of having a volunteer event like Days of Caring is that it exposes the younger generation to giving back to their community.
"Last year it was groups of people, adults and children, volunteering," Mrs. LeChot said. "By exposing the younger generation to volunteering, you're instilling in them the importance of giving back to their community."
Anyone who wants to post a wish list or project or any volunteer who wants to find a project for Days of Caring should go to the website at volunteerwayne.org. Needs are not just listed there for Days of Caring, but throughout the year, Mrs. LeChot said.
A new activity for anyone wanting to participate is United Day of Fitness. United Way has teamed up with the Family Y, Powerflow Fitness, Goldsboro Pediatrics and Go Wayne Go to have United Day of Fitness Nov. 22 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at Powerflow Fitness on Walnut Street. There will be wellness checks, healthy eating for the holidays seminars and 30 minutes of Zumba for free.
And it is a family-oriented event for both adults and children.
For more information about Days of Caring, contact United Way at 919-735-3591.