Community Spirit on Display at United Way of West Florida’s Day of Caring
Pensacola, Fla. – October 4, 2019
Throughout Escambia and Santa Rosa counties today, United Way of West Florida volunteers rolled up their sleeves and gave back to area nonprofits and schools by completing over 150 service projects for the organization’s 27th Annual Day of Caring.
“It’s such a special day,” said Education Outreach and Volunteer Manager, Kristy Craig. “So many amazing people are really excited and grateful for the opportunity to make a difference and create a stronger community.”
This year, nearly 1,200 individuals put on their Live United t-shirts and got to work helping non-profit agencies and schools with projects like landscaping, maintenance and beautification, painting, reading to children, and more.
City of Pensacola employees, along with Mayor Grover Robinson, spent the day assisting Manna Food Pantries with landscaping, cleaning, sorting and more. Their efforts equated to more than 41,000 meals to the hungry, or healthy food for a day for 13,683 people, according to Executive Director, DeDe Flounlacker.
Other projects included United Way VISTA members working alongside Navy Federal Credit Union at First City Arts Center to help with indoor and outdoor beautification projects, ExxonMobil employees helping frame a Pensacola Habitat for Humanity home in Milton, and Baptist Home Health helping to host a carnival that included karaoke, dancing, bean bag tosses, and more at Capstone Adaptive Learning & Therapy Centers Transition Employment Center. Cat Country 98.7 and NewsRadio 92.3 spent the day landscaping at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida’s new office.
Many participating businesses, banks, and institutions like Publix, Gulf Power, Hancock Whitney, UWF, and many others had multiple teams completing various projects in different parts of the community, as well. In total, 76 companies and civic groups combined to make up 105 Day of Caring teams.
“It’s amazing to see how much Day of Caring has grown in this community,” said Craig. “Everywhere you look people are smiling and fulfilled, and our community is better for it. It’s evident that this is a meaningful and inspiring day for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.”
Since the inaugural Day of Caring in 1993, United Way of West Florida has coordinated over 28,000 volunteers to complete 2,572 projects for agencies and schools in the community. This year’s Day of Caring was made possible with the support of event sponsors Florida Blue and Cox Communications.
To view photos from Day of Caring, click here.
If you’d like more information on how to volunteer with United Way of West Florida visit the organization’s online volunteer hub at https://uwwf.galaxydigital.com/, or contact their Volunteer Center at volunteer@uwwf.org or 850-434-3157.
United Way of West Florida is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every citizen in our community. UWWF has operated locally for 95 years with a vision of a community United to create better opportunities for all. By investing in programs, participating in partnerships, and leveraging resources, UWWF works to meet a mission of Uniting our community to improve lives.
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