Day Of Caring Kicks Off United Way Campaign

Volunteers from Cargill Finance took part in the 2018 United Way Day of Caring.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The United Way Day of Caring is a way many community members and companies give back to their community through volunteerism.

Diane Ottosson is a board member for FACE of Mahaska County, a nonprofit that was benefiting from the volunteer effort. “We are a volunteer group,” Ottosson said of FACE. “Other than the retired person in me, everyone is working full time and so it’s hard to get big projects done. This is a big deal. The help they are offering today is very important to us.”

“Nonprofits typically run on a shoestring budget, and so we can’t hire out jobs like this. But then again, you can only stretch your volunteers so far,” added Ottosson.

“We sure appreciate United Way organizing this for us and for so much support from corporations and businesses, individuals and volunteers,” said Ottosson.

A group from Cargill was spending time helping to brighten and clean up the new sculpture facility being readied along South Market. A fresh coat of paint, and a broom made a big difference in the appearance of the building.

Ottosson said that she hopes to have an opening of the new facility in November of 2018, and classes would start up after the first of the year.

Matt Kargol, an accomplished sculpture will be leading the effort at the new studio. “A lot of people know his work,” said Ottosson.

Timothy Gibson, Community Impact Coordinator for United Way of Mahaska County was busy serving lunch to the volunteers at Day of Caring.

Gibson said that 125 people were registered for the lunch, and approximately 200 people were registered to volunteer during the day.

“It’s super exciting. We’re working on over 18 projects throughout town, including both residential projects and organizations and agencies, some that are partners and some that aren’t actually affiliated with United Way at all,” said Gibson. “The other really cool thing is we have projects in New Sharon and in Fremont.”

Gibson said that United Way received several more requests at residential homes this year compared to previous years. United Way staff then visited all of the potential residential and organizations asking for help, to determine what kinds of needs there were, and what types of supplies, what kinds of funds and from where those were available was all part of the process in selection.

Most residential homes belonged to elderly owners, “and other people that don’t really have the means to really do the housework themselves”, added Gibson.

Helping volunteers feel good about the impact they are making during the Day of Caring is another benefit of the day.

The next day, United Way of Mahaska County officially kicked off its campaign season. It’s the time of the year that the nonprofit raises its funding from supporters, to support community projects throughout the year.

Amy Meyer, Executive Director of United Way of Mahaska County, visits area businesses, sharing with employees what the donations from the paychecks do for the people of Mahaska County.

Day of Caring has been the traditional kick-off day for campaign, but Meyer thought they should have a little bit of fun. “We just thought the Alley is a great place to come out and bring people together. Hopefully, a lot of workplace people come and get excited for campaign.”

That time with employees had already started, as Meyer stopped by to visit with the employees at MidAmerican Energy.

During the past year, United Way of Mahaska County has helped 13 partner agencies, and those agencies often change from year to year.

Programs like Big Brothers and Big Sisters and the New Sharon Childcare are two new partner agencies for United Way.

The board selects those partner agencies for the next year in January.

Meyer said the goal for this year is to raise $340,000, with half of that money going directly to those partner non-profits.

Beyond the partner agencies, United Way is directly involved in the summer lunch program, reading programs, “and we’re always looking for new gaps in the community that we try to fill,” added Meyer.

You can find out more about Mahaska County United Way by visiting their website HERE – http://www.unitedwaymahaska.org/.