MANSFIELD, Ohio – The city of Mansfield benefited Friday from United Way of Richland County’s annual Day of Caring, a day with a mission of making a positive impact in the community.
Approximately 200 volunteers spent their day in a United Way or non-profit agency on Friday, completing much-needed projects while increasing their awareness of local human service agencies. Dan Varn, Executive Director of United Way of Richland County, said United Way was happy to “walk the walk” by completing more than 40 community projects on Friday.
“We have great and generous community support every year, but we can’t do that by sitting in our office and waiting for the support to come our way; we have to show the community we’re an active partner,” said Varn. “It’s important to give back and important to tell the story and hear the impacts on the agencies here in Richland County.”
Among the agencies benefiting from Friday’s Day of Caring were Catalyst Life Services, Catholic Charities, Raemelton Therapeutic Equestrian Center and the Salvation Army. Representatives from Harmony House and the Domestic Violence Shelter spoke to the crowd on Friday to emphasize the magnitude of their service.
“We see some difficult things, so on those days it’s nice to know we have the community’s support,” said Kathy Ezawa of the Domestic Violence Shelter.
Volunteers offered resources and labor in the form of painting, landscaping, mulching and other projects on Friday. Dan DeVille, a past United Way president and current board member, said these maintenance-type projects are where agencies try to save money that could be better spent doing beneficial actions in the community.
“There are about 200 people putting in an eight-hour day, that’s 1,600 man hours,” explained DeVille. “Hiring someone to do this at $15 an hour would be about $25,000 that we’re investing in our community today by these volunteers.”
In addition to educating volunteers about these community agencies, Day of Caring is also about connecting people to United Way. DeVille noted there are often many misconceptions about United Way. Kristie Massie, a past president and current board member, added people may not understand what United Way does and what the organization means to the area.
“Not only does this give us a chance to showcase some of our agencies, it also allows people to go in there and see what’s going on and get a better understanding of what their donations are doing,” said Massa. “United Way helps those people that would normally fall through the cracks, and they actually get to see their dollars in action when they’re out there working at these locations.”
More than anything though, Varn said Day of Caring is about making connections within the community.
“We want to give folks an opportunity to volunteer – a lot of companies will go back and support the agencies after today because they make a connection,” said Varn.
“This day of awareness helps people have a firsthand experience,” added DeVille. “And a lot of times it spurs additional support, they make a connection and they may come back. Every little bit helps, it’s part of educating our community about the positive resources we have downtown.”
“We have great and generous community support every year, but we can’t do that by sitting in our office and waiting for the support to come our way; we have to show the community we’re an active partner,” said Dan Varn.
