United Way of Washington County hosted the 28th annual Day of Caring on Thursday, September 19, 2019. Day of Caring is Washington County’s single largest community service effort. By engaging people in volunteerism, United Way works to create positive change in Washington County. The Day of Caring is only possible with the help of hundreds of volunteers and assistance from local sponsors and businesses. This year, the 28th Annual Day of Caring placed 1,804 volunteers on 146 different project assignments throughout Washington County. 46 nonprofits and 69 homeowners received assistance through the efforts of the Day of Caring volunteers. – this was the largest turnout in history for Washington County’s Day of Caring.
This is an event that mobilizes over a thousand volunteers to work on a variety of service projects at local nonprofit organizations and homes of the elderly and/or disabled and military veterans. United Way facilitates the much-needed projects performed in the community, at no cost to the homeowners. The additional resources and volunteers allow nonprofit organizations to continue focusing on serving the needs of Washington County.
Day of Caring for Washington County, MD provides a variety of services that help individuals with home safety and minor repairs on projects that include painting, gardening and more. In our community, there is a need for assistance to help make one’s living situation more comfortable and safer. These are the kinds of projects for which the Day of Caring is designed. Nonprofit agencies and elderly and disabled homeowners, as well as military veterans, are encouraged to submit applications for Day of Caring projects during the open application period, March - July.
Many events took place in conjunction with the Day of Caring including:
- Kickoff breakfast at Hagerstown Community College at 7am. Breakfast was included as well as a chance to win $500 just for attending.
- A community book drive and personal caring drive concluded with their final legs taking place, sorting, counting and preparing all collected items for distribution.
- A free community health fair took place at Family Healthcare of Hagerstown from 430pm – 7pm.
- The Humane Society of Washington County waived pet adoption fees for anyone 55 years of age and older, for felines (any age) and canines (5 years of age or older).
- Pet Therapy and Senior Visits were made to the homes of the elderly & disabled and retirement facilities.
- A volunteer appreciation after-party was hosted at the Grand Piano Ballroom from 5pm-8pm.
We'd like to express the extreme amount of gratitude we have for all volunteers, teams, nonprofit agencies, supporters, sponsors, organizations and everyone else involved with the success of Washington County's largest volunteer effort!
For more information on Day of Caring or the many events taking place on Day of Caring, please visit:
http://www.unitedwaywashcounty.org/28th-annual-day-caring