United Way prepares for first Week of Caring
By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com
The coronavirus pandemic may have shut down businesses, sporting events and concerts, but it hasn’t slowed down the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
The organization is preparing for its first-ever Week of Caring from Oct. 2-10. Thousands of volunteers will participate in 75 in-person and virtual projects throughout Allegheny, Butler, Westmoreland, Fayette and Armstrong counties to help their neighbors in need and assist nonprofit agencies on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organization hopes to recruit 1,000 volunteers for the event, and United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania Director of Volunteer Engagement Wendy Koch said about 500 have already signed up.
The event stems from the United Way’s traditional Day of Caring.
“We’ve done Days of Caring in the past, and we knew with COVID-19 there were so many other needs,” she said. “We wanted to band together as one United Way.”
The activities during the Week of Caring are similar those on the Day of Caring, with volunteers at projects both in person and virtually. In-person activities include food packing, sorting donations with the Boys and Girls Club, distributing food with the YMCA and delivering meals to local seniors. Virtual activities include assembling cold-weather gear, making cards for local seniors, packing food bags for children and diaper drives for babies.
To register for the United Way’s Week of Caring, visit http://bit.ly/
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