Volunteers paint Boys & Girls Club
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BY MICHAEL GONZALEZ, POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT
EAST CHICAGO -- Jose Galicia works the floor as a millwright in this city's ArcelorMittal steel mill and Sara Hicks spends her workdays in the mill's treasury office in Chicago.
They spent part of Friday afternoon painting the kitchen of the Katherine House Boys & Girls Club here as part of the Lake Area United Way's Regional Day of Caring, which brought out 1,800 workers from Lake and Porter counties.
"With the way the economy is, I think more and more people are concerned about helping other people," Chris Eller-Esperanza, the United Way's volunteer coordinator for Lake County, said.
The day for the Lake County teams began with a breakfast paid for by BP and put on by Campagna Academy. From there, the groups scattered about the county, painting, cleaning, trimming bushes and weeding and even packing backpacks at not-for-profit agencies.
Team of volunteers helps with landscape projects | |
BY AMY LAVALLEY, POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT VALPARAISO -- The clay earth was baked hard and dry.
BY AMY LAVALLEY, POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT "They don't have the labor and time to get out here and do it," said Kelli Ciesinski, a Best Buy employee helping with the effort. The team was one of 109 fanning out to 48 sites at not-for-profits across the region Friday for the third annual United Way Regional Day of Caring. About 200 high school students from the United Way's Power of Youth program will be working at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and State Park today.
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Young people show they care | |
PORTER | The Valparaiso High School football team did not get home from Friday's victorious game over Griffith until 11 p.m., yet most of the members were volunteering early Saturday morning as part the United Way Regional Youth Day of Caring. "They're tired," Coach Mark Hoffman said. "They're bruised." Hoffman said the players put in 1,500 hours of community service last year. He said he is a big believer this type of service is good not only for team building, but also for building up the individual. "It develops the entire person," he said. An estimated 400 high school students from various youth groups across Porter and Lake counties gathered Saturday at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Chellberg Farm and Bailly Homestead site on Mineral Springs Road. The young people, many of whom wore the same light blue T-shirt, were sent out in groups to undertake various restoration projects within the National Lakeshore and nearby state park.
2010 Regional Day of Caring | |
The United Way Regional Volunteer Center is searching is for small or large companies, community groups, even individuals wanting to roll up their sleeves and donate their time, talents, and skills to nonprofit organizations. “We need people to sign up, decide a day, pick their project and come make a difference,” says Kathy Wojkovich, United Way Regional Volunteer Center. “With over 100 projects to choose from, there’s something for everyone.”
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Mark your calendar for the 3rd annual United Way Regional Day of Caring to be held in Lake and Porter County on August 27 and 28. The event is billed by organizers as the largest gathering of volunteers in Northwest Indiana.| Fri Aug 27 @08:00AM - 05:00PM 2010 Day of Caring |
| Sat Aug 28 @08:00AM - 01:00PM Youth Day of Caring |
| Fri Sep 17 @08:00AM - 02:00PM Purdue University Day of Caring |
| Sat Sep 18 @08:00AM - 02:00PM Valparaiso University Day of Caring |
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