United Way’s Day of Caring Draws Nearly 1,700 Volunteers

Sorry, this video is no longer available

While some may dream that picking up leaves, cleaning windows, and vacuuming would get done on its own, it became a reality for some senior citizens.

United Way volunteers helped make those small projects possible for seniors in the community.

Carol Chose needs to get some cleaning done, and for one day she can do it without leaving her chair.

“My windows are so dirty I can’t see out of them hardly. So you know I’d like to have gotten at them myself but I can’t,” says the Good Samaritan Society nursing home resident.

Nearly 1,700 volunteers are helping senior’s clean the windows and take care of small projects around their homes in Cass and Clay County for United Way’s Day of Caring.

United Way employees say volunteers enjoy getting to meet and help more than 450 seniors throughout the area.

“They can picture their grandma or their grandpa or even their parents and know that those people need that help and sometimes not you know they don’t live close enough to their parents to be able to give that to them,” says United Way Communications Project Manager Kelly Rotar. 

While Carol says it will be nice to have clean windows. Volunteers say it’s a great way to get to know each other in the community.

“This is a great way to be involved and its jut a fun day, you know, to get out of the office and do something different for a change,” says Mortenson Construction Volunteer Emily Sumner. 

Volunteers say taking the time out of their work day to respect their elders is a job that really pays off.

This is United Way’s 24th year putting on the event.