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Green Mountain United Way Announces 2017 Day of Caring Projects and Seeks Volunteers
Montpelier, Vermont – April 21, 2017 – When people come together for a special day of volunteerism, helping local organizations with much needed projects and giving their time and talents to the community good, it is more than just a normal day, it is a “Day of Caring.”
Green Mountain United Way’s annual Day of Caring is scheduled for Wednesday, May 24 in Central Vermont and volunteers are still needed to help on the two projects planned for the day.
“My favorite part of Day of Caring is being able to see individuals come together to work hard together and support the organizations that do so much for our community while also building new relationships through the joy of volunteering,” Tawnya Kristen, Executive Director of Green Mountain United Way, said. “The Day of Caring is one of the best ways we have seen to mobilize and energize people to give back to their communities while having a lot of fun doing it.”
This year’s projects are scheduled at The Family Center of Washington County in Berlin and the Good Samaritan Haven in Barre.
The day will begin at The Family Center of Washington County where volunteers will help to rebuild and rehab the children’s playground and community garden, then continue in the afternoon at the Good Samaritan Haven shelter in Barre with indoor and outdoor clean-up work.
Some of the project activities include landscaping, painting, minor building repairs, office organization, pressure washing buildings and more.
“Business volunteers are a key part of Day of Caring. We are fortunate to have so many great businesses who support their community by giving employees incentives to volunteer their time. In 2016 we were supported by businesses such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, Northfield Savings Bank and Keurig Green Mountain. We are hoping they, and many others, will join us again this year.”, said Carrie Stahler, Director of Funding and Program Development at Green Mountain United Way and the lead organizer of the Day of Caring.
Aside from helping the organization, Stahler is hoping those volunteering will learn more about the important work these organizations are doing.
Volunteers are being accepted and will be accepted the day of the event. Those interested in volunteering for Day of Caring, should contact Carrie Stahler at 802-613-3989 or by email at cstahler@gmunitedway.org. More information and registration can be found at www.gmunitedway.org/day-caring.
About Green Mountain United Way: Green Mountain United Way is a Vermont not-for-profit organization in operation since 1976. They work to improve the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community in Caledonia, Essex, Orange, Orleans and Washington Counties by mobilizing the caring power of communities around our region to advance the common good. No other single organization has the scope and influence to bring together human service agencies, government, businesses, private foundations and dedicated volunteers around a common vision of creating maximum impact and achieving long-lasting results.
Contact: Carrie Stahler, Green Mountain United Way, 802-613-3989 or cstahler@gmunitedway.org
NALC’s 25th annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive is just weeks away—on
Saturday, May 13—and with that date drawing ever closer, food drive coordinators in hundreds of NALC branches across America are finalizing their preparations for the nation’s largest one-day food collection event designed to help replenish local food banks in the communities we serve.
“Too many people in this country are going hungry,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “We know this to be true because we see it as we deliver to every address in America at least six days a week.”
Sadly, statistics back this up. Nearly 49 million Americans—1 in 6—are unsure where their next meal is coming from. This includes 13 million children as well as about 5 million seniors over age 60—many of whom live on fixed incomes and often are too embarrassed to ask for help.
Since 1993, when the national food drive began, letter carriers in every part of the country have worked with family members, friends, other postal co-workers and allies to use the second Saturday in May as a day to give something back to the communities that know and trust us.
Last year, the food drive collected a record 80 million pounds of nonperishable food, raising the total amount of donations picked up over the quarter-century history of the drive to more than 1.5 billion pounds.
By the time our national food drive rolls around each year, the shelves of food pantries and other charitable organizations often are nearly empty, turning our hard work on Food Drive Day into a much-needed replenishment with summer fast approaching.
“Letter carriers lead this massive collection effort,” President Rolando said, “but we couldn’t make the food drive a reality without the help of our national partners.”
This year’s partners are the U.S. Postal Service, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA), the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Valpak, United Way Worldwide, the AFL-CIO, the AARP Foundation and Valassis.
“These partners provide tangible support that helps to encourage the generous participation of our postal customers,” Rolando said.
For example, local United Way agencies often help branches coordinate distribution of food to local food banks, pantries and shelters. Countless NRLCA members volunteer their time to work with their brothers and sisters in the city carrier craft to help collect and distribute non-perishable food donations in the country’s rural and underserved areas. AFL-CIO’s community services liaisons work with field mobilization staff members, state federations and central labor councils (CLCs) to coordinate support and
recruit volunteers.
“Our extraordinary history of filling local food pantry shelves in communities across the country is made possible by our partnerships with these national organizations in conjunction with the dedication and hard work of letter carriers,” Rolando said.
“The food drive is just one of the many ways letter carriers give back to our communities,” he said. “It’s almost time for us to shine once again.”
Be sure to keep in touch with the food drive’s official social media accounts—on Facebook, “like” facebook.com/StampOutHunger, and on Twitter, follow @StampOutHunger.
You can Download the Poster HERE or view it below
[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.gmunitedway.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2017-NALC-Food-Drive-Poster.pdf” title=”2017 NALC Food Drive Poster”]
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[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.gmunitedway.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Pg-14-WED-4-5-17-Volunteer-COLOR.pdf” title=”Pg 14 WED 4-5-17 Volunteer COLOR”]
In case you are unable to view the PDF, please use this:
We are celebrating as we cross the $470,000 mark for our Annual Campaign! Thank you to everyone who made this possible so far!
We could not do the great work we do without the support of hundreds of individuals and businesses in the region, so thank you if you have contributed to this or any of our campaigns!
Haven’t made your contribution yet this year? It’s not too late – our Community Campaign ends on June 30! Just click the Donate button or send your check to our new Montpelier office at 73 Main St. #33, Montpelier, VT 05602 and help our campaign reach our goal of $500,000!
$1/week ($26) buys 11 Literacy Kits for children lacking access to books OR provides new socks to 10 children entering emergency foster care through our Tatum’s Totes program
$2/week ($120) Provides fully-stocked backpacks to 4 children entering emergency foster care through GMUW’s Tatum’s Totes partnerships OR gives 4 working families a 1-hour budgeting workshop to get them on the path to financial stability
$10/week ($520) Supports a community forum that fosters honest conversation on opiate addiction to find long-term solutions to this complex issues like opiate addiction OR helps to bring 50 volunteers together with the supplies they need to clean up and repair a local playground!
In addition to the great work we do, our Community Campaign allows us and our donors to support the nonprofits in our region. Last year we gave over $100,000 to nonprofit organizations; check it out in our 2015-16 Annual Report.