Tribune Staff Reports
The Jackson County United Way’s 23rd annual Day of Caring has been set for May 14.
The event will kick off at 7:30 a.m. that day at Girls Inc. of Jackson County, 956 N. O’Brien St., Seymour.
Co-chairs Karen Brooks and Ron Duncan have met with the planning committee in preparation for the event.
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“This is a day we can collectively change just a little piece of our world,” Brooks said. “We all care for our fellow man, and we all can do something to help each other. We will all come together to do just that on May 14 — neighbors helping neighbors throughout Jackson County.”
Duncan agreed.
“In offering help to those who need it, we create the opportunity to pay it forward making Jackson County a better place to live and raise our families, to be proud of where we live by the direct impact we can make,” he said. “We don’t just change the way things look. We change the way we look at things. ”
Bonita Dobbs, program manager for Jackson County United Way, said more than 170 projects were completed last year by more than 1,400 volunteers.
“Projects are sought throughout all of Jackson County and not limited to just Brownstown, Crothersville, Freetown, Seymour or Medora,” she said.
Dobbs said a wide variety of projects are needed to fit the wide variety of skills the volunteers bring to the event.
“We can do light landscaping to painting to power washing to organizing a shed,” she said.
Organizers are again reaching out to senior citizens to submit a project request form.
“We know many seniors in our community just aren’t able to go out and pick up sticks or clean out their flower beds or apply a fresh coat of paint to a porch,” Dobbs said. “We have volunteers who will be ready to do these projects for our seniors. If we want to be known as a place where we work together for solutions to take care of neighbors and generations, knocking on your neighbor’s door to see if they’d like help from the Day of Caring is the first step.”
While most projects are accepted, volunteers cannot do any roofing projects or enter homes. Projects must be able to be completed between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., and a certificate of insurance must be provided.
Those at project sites also are asked to provide materials for the projects, while volunteer groups may be asked to bring their tools from home to assist with completion of some projects.
Organizations or groups interested in participating in Day of Caring may make a cash donation or be a sponsor ($100, Helping; $300, Serving; $750, Leading; or $1,500, Presenting). They also can fill out a form to make an in-kind contribution.
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For a Day of Caring project request form or volunteer request form, contact Bonita Dobbs, program manager for Jackson County United Way, at 812-522-5450 or [email protected]. You also may visit jacsy.org/volunteer.
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