Article and photo by Jeannie Briones
On September 22nd, early Sunday morning, volunteers came together to have some fun and get their hands dirty for the United Way Days of Caring event at the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club. Volunteers helped out with general maintenance and landscaping to beautify the club grounds and conduct basic repairs to the playground, which was built in 2008 with help of Home Depot and non-profit organization KaBOOM!
Days of Caring, organized by United Way of Snohomish County, are two-day events, committed to creating positive change and lending a much-needed hand to local non-profit agencies. This year, volunteers worked September 21-22 at Asbery Field, Pinewood Elementary School, Allen Creek and the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club. Organizations such as Community Transit and Aviation Technical Services Inc., along with community members, donated their time at the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club.
“Having volunteers here from the United Way Days of Caring, from Community Transit, Aviation Technologies, community members and staff, and seeing them work so hard and telling us thank you for letting us be here, was very humbling,” said Diane Prouty, Administrator Assistant for the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club.
Volunteers were ready to move into action and with little direction from Tulalip Boys and Girls Club staff. Over 40 volunteers diligently worked to complete the maintenance projects within six hours.
Projects consisted of staining benches, picnic tables, garbage can holders, and playground edging, and even painting over the graffiti on the overpass. Grounds keeping included weeding, pruning, and small tree removal.
Diane was amazed how fast the volunteers moved and how well they all worked together. She walked away feeling blessed by the entire experience and would like to pay it forward and volunteer in the future.
United Way is a non-profit organization with a vision to see everyone in the community working together to create a brighter future. If you are interested in volunteering and would like to support your community, visit www.uwsc.org for more information.