Boiler Room and ECHHO volunteers. Click on Photo to see more Day of Caring photos!
We had an amazing turnout for Day of Caring, with over 150 people participating in the Day of Caring event this year!
On September 18th one hundred community volunteers gathered at Mountain View Commons Gymnasium at 8:30 am to celebrate the 5th Annual Day of Caring! The mood at the Day of Caring kick-off event was definitely festive!
At UGN we know that volunteers are at the center of the delivery of vital services in our communities. Our annual Day of Caring event celebrates the spirit of service in Jefferson County that is at the heart of nonprofit resiliency and success! Local nonprofits count on community members to deliver services and get mission critical work accomplished.
“Volunteers are absolutely key to helping nonprofits succeed here in Jefferson County”, Steve RaFoth, UGN Board President.
Day of Caring also serves as a kick-off celebration for the 2015 UGN Fall Fund Drive. The event opened with a warm welcome to volunteers and organizations from Steve RaFoth, UGN Board Present, and a thank you to Wells Fargo and Shelli K Cates, Edward Jones Financial Advisor, for their generous sponsorship support.
UGN has set a goal to raise $375,00 this year – $50,000 increase from last year and we are confident that with the support of our community, we can do it, Steve RaFoth.
Of course, we couldn’t do without the annual reading of the Day of Caring proclamation, read by City Council member Deborah Stinson.
The 2015 United Good Neighbor Award Winners
United Good Neighbors Awardees: From left to right: Richard Nordberg, Judy Alexander and Sam Vierra
Carla Caldwell awarded the United Good Neighbor Award to community members for their outstanding service to our community
- Judith Alexander, Local 2020 Volunteer
- Richard Nordberg, Community Volunteer
- Sam Vierra, Quilcene High School Student
2015 Day of Caring Projects and Volunteer Groups:
Following the kick-off celebrations, teams of volunteers donned Day of Caring t-shirts and fanned out across our community to complete a 2-3 hour Day of Caring project at one of 12 projects:
- The Business Guides and Friends of Port Townsend Library volunteers got their gardening on at the Port Townsend Library
- NAMI– spruced up working image
- PT Rotary volunteers painted mounting stages for Horse Partners therapeutic riding program
- The Boiler Room and ECHHO volunteers helped clean up dog exercise yard for the Jefferson County Humane Society
- The Boiler Room and PT Rotary volunteers built garden beds to grow more vegetables at the Port Townsend High School Foodbank Farm and Garden.
- Wells Fargo employees– washed windows to let the sun shine in at South Seven Senior Living
- The Swan School made the shop shine at The ReCyclery
- Nikki’s Rockin’ Crew built deer fencing, spread mulch and cleaned out the weeds at the Quimper Grange Food Bank Gardens
- PT Paper Corp and Jefferson Health volunteers assembled bags of food for the Backpack for Kids Weekend Nutrition program
- Port Ludlow Associates beautified the grounds at Camp Beausite
- PT Rotary volunteers added a few coats of oil to preserve the information booth at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds
- COAST ran a blanket drive for the Men and Women’s shelter guests.
In addition to volunteering with The ReCyclery, The Swan School organized additional projects for their students so the entire school could participate in UGN’s Day of Caring
- Neighborhood trash pick-up
- Visiting with elders at Victoria House to play solo piano, exercise and call out bingo numbers during bingo time
- A card making project for COAST Shelter guests
- Cemetary cleanup
- Making posters for a blanket drive
36 Students at the Jefferson Community School completed three projected on Wednesday, September 21st
- Working on a Habitat home for Habitat for Humanity of Jefferson County
- Gardening at the Boiler Room
- Painting fences and power washing at Fort Worden.
We look forward to seeing the Day of Caring event grow each as a celebration of the power of volunteers in our communities!
Thanks To Our Sponsors!
Thanks to the generous sponsorships of Wells Fargo, Shelli K Cates and Steve Rafoth, every Day of Caring volunteer received a Day of Caring t-shirt this year!
Wells Fargo
Shelli K Cates, Edward Jones Financial Advisor