The yearly outreach, which is the largest one-day community service event in the entire county, was held Wednesday. Among the projects completed were installing new flooring, dry wall, painting, electrical work, yard clean up, deck builds and wheel chair ramps. United Way officials say this year they had a large increase in project requests from senior citizens who are living in very poor and sometimes dangerous conditions, and that many of the projects required a lot of physical work.

Piet Lindhout, 2019 Day of Caring Co-Chair, spoke about one of those kinds of projects he tackled this year in which the homeowner told him in order for her to get out of her house, she has to throw her walker out the door, scoot down the steps, and then pick up her walker while trying to brace herself so she can stand back up. Lindhout came up with a design for “walker steps” which are 33” long, a 5” rise, and 33” wide. The new design and build gave her the ability to use her walker safely and the freedom to get in and out of her own home.

Event organizers also say that by local businesses taking part in the Day of Caring, they give their employees the opportunity to volunteer during normal work hours, build relationships with their co-workers, and work as a team in a way that cannot be done at the workplace or at a seminar. LCUW officials say they are so proud and grateful for the community, adding that the Day of Caring could not be possible without everyone’s generosity.

Photos courtesy of Terri Hillier.