More than 1,800 Community Volunteers Turn Out in Force for United Way Days of Caring
From corporate executives and theme park associates to bankers and healthcare administrators, more than 1,800 volunteers reached out to help neighbors in need through United Way Days of Caring - Central Florida's largest community-wide volunteer event.
In all, more 50 companies and organizations took part in this year's event, which provided much-needed help to United Way partner agencies and the people they serve.
Although the majority of activities took place on Friday, Sept. 24, the biggest project wrapped up on Saturday, Oct. 23 when nearly 900 employees of the event's largest supporter, Lockheed Martin, completed landscaping, painting and renovation projects at The Salvation Army's Orlando campus.
"Lockheed Martin employees are proud to volunteer at Day of Caring year after year," said Kevin Sheehan, V.P. of Business Development for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control and a member of the United Way board. "We effectively partner with United Way in an effort to enhance the quality of life in the communities where we live and work to make a lasting impact in Central Florida.”
One of the earliest projects, construction of a playground obstacle course for the Winter Park Day Nursery, drew star power support from Orange County Sherriff SWAT Commander Tom Stroup, who is hosting the new NBC reality series, School Pride, that debuted Oct. 15.
“I want to make volunteerism an epidemic — to where there aren’t enough projects because there are so many people wanting to help,” said Stroup, who is traveling the country leading teams of volunteers in renovating aging schools.
Other projects included home security improvements for four elderly Pine Hills residents, game days for children attending local Boys & Girls Club branches, serving meals at Coalition for the Homeless and organizing food inventories for Second Harvest Food Bank.
In addition to Lockheed Martin, other companies taking part in this year's event included Disney, Publix, Duke Construction, UPS, AT&T, Ernst & Young, IBM, Coca-Cola and many others that recognize Days of Caring as a great opportunity to have fun, build team spirit and give back.
Investing in Community: All Days of Caring projects support United Way's efforts to improve lives and community conditions by focusing on these four priority areas:
- Building Safe Communities Through Education
- Improving Financial Stability
- Developing Healthy Children and Families
- Alleviating Hunger and Homelessness
If you missed this year's Days of Caring, other great projects are available year round. The United Way Volunteer Resource Center makes it simple for you, your company, family or faith-based group to get involved. Click here for more information. |
Special thanks to the photographers who donated their time and talents:
Versatile Photography
MacBeth Photography
Simple Reflections by Margarita Puckett
Days of Caring 2009
Photo Gallery
2010 Event Sponsors:
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