Carla Clark | For The Republic
Mark Johnson is shown holding build plans during the construction of a ramp for a United Way program on a past Day of Caring.
A total of 300 volunteers tackling 32 projects for 18 area nonprofits and other agencies will mark the annual United Way of Bartholomew County’s Day of Service Thursday.
And a midday lunch of pork chops, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans and more at Amazing Joe’s Grill on Central Avenue will kick off United Way’s annual fundraising campaign that normally runs until June. The most recent campaign raised $4.3 million to fund 14 certified agencies.
United Way leaders have said for years that opportunities such as the Day of Service give volunteers a close-up view of how nonprofits operate — and a better idea why they need committed financial support.
“During the Day of Service … work with organizations and businesses that are essential to the social services sector,” United Way’s website reads. ” … Efforts ensure these agencies can focus on helping people in our community thrive.”
Day of Service, which began in 2013, is a full-day volunteer event that connects local volunteers with nonprofit agencies and organizations to complete needed work, from landscaping to office help to ramp building and more.
The efforts are especially important since United Way leaders have long emphasized that volunteer hours translate to dollars saved for nonprofits’ limited budgets.
The fundraising campaign, which has led the state among United Ways in per capita giving for more than a decade, and also is ranked in the same category near the nation’s top campaigns, supports the certified United Way agencies.
Currently, United Way is continuing its initiative to lift 1,000 families out of poverty in 2,000 days — a timeline that began last summer.
United Way’s work is especially important because its programs reach roughly one-third of Bartholomew County’s approximate 83,000 residents, according to the non-profit’s figures. That population ranges from youngsters at the Foundation for Youth after-school programs to senior exercise participants at Mill Race Center for people age 50-plus.
