Days of Action begins June 21
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on June 18, 2017 1:45 AM
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Local people will unite next week to make Wayne County a better place to live and work.
The annual Days of Action, sponsored by United Way of Wayne County, will take place June 21 through 25.
"It's a United Way worldwide event," said Kate Charron, United Way community engagement manager. "It's when a collective of volunteer events throughout the community is put together and presented to the community for them to do as one big effort to harness the volunteer spirit.
"It's really cool that around this time, everyone comes together to harness the volunteer spirit and improve the conditions in which they live and for their community."
The event has evolved over the many years that it's been held in Wayne County. For example, it used to be called Days of Caring and was held in November in 2014 and in August in 2015.
But the benefits to the community have remained the same.
"These events were thoughtfully tailored to meet the needs of our community," Ms. Charron said.
The various projects help improve life in Wayne County.
And Days of Action benefits volunteers, too.
"Volunteerism in general has a lot of great benefits," Ms. Charron said. "It broadens your horizons. It strengthens your connection with your community, and it just gives you a sense of purpose. It helps you develop skills as well, things you might not know, like staining park equipment.
"We definitely hope that through this event, people will realize how great volunteering can be and how it's mutually beneficial, helping the volunteer and the community. We hope to foster and cultivate new volunteers and get them involved in the various volunteer projects that are always going on in Wayne County."
Volunteers are still needed for Days of Action. To volunteer, go to www.volunteerwayne.org and click on the Days of Action banner at the bottom of the page.
Individuals can volunteer, as well as groups and even businesses.
And anyone who is already doing a project during this time period may register it with United Way to become part of Days of Action.
For more information, call United Way at 919-735-3591.
Here are this year's volunteer opportunities:
* * Book drive June 19 through 24, a partnership between the Partnership for Children, Wayne County Public Library, Communities in Schools and United Way. Gently used books may be dropped off at the library, Communities in Schools and Partnership for Children.
* Stain the Park June 22 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Westbrook Park in Mount Olive. Playground, benches and other structures need to be restained. Rain date will be June 23.
* Meals on Wheels delivery June 22 at 10:30 a.m. at WAGES.
* Habitat for Humanity Restore June 23 at 8:30 a.m. Putting together furniture, assembling other items and a little bit of painting.
* READ Wayne June 25 following Mass at Saint Mary's Church of Mount Olive. READ Wayne aims to get children ready for school before kindergarten with literacy and reading. Volunteers will pass out literature.