Annual Helping Hands Day: Calling Volunteers
United Way of Southwest Wyoming’s Annual Helping Hands Day is scheduled for August 22, 2020. Helping Hands Day is a volunteer event where Helping Hands Day teams go out into the community to complete improvement projects for people with disabilities, senior citizens and non-profit organizations. Projects typically include facility repairs, renovations, beautification projects and house and yard work.
“We are celebrating 25 years of changing lives and we have more to do,” states Shelley Richno, Community Impact Coordinator of United Way of Southwest Wyoming, “it’s great to see what impact we can have on people and community programs when we put our resources together for the good of others.”
Helping Hands Day is a way for people to give back to those who need it the most, increase the awareness of our local nonprofits, and demonstrates that neighbors helping neighbors can create positive change in the lives of children, families, and seniors. United Way is currently seeking volunteers to complete the projects. In the past, teams have consisted of families, sports teams, Boy Scout troops, church groups, businesses and individuals. Although August 22th has been set at Helping Hands Day, projects can be completed on days that are more convenient for volunteer teams.
This year due to COVID-19, United Way asks that anyone requesting help, when possible, request projects that limit direct contact. For example, projects that can be done by volunteers outside of the persons residence so as not to limit the exposure to others and to decrease any further health risks to both the requestor and the volunteer.
Individuals submit project requests because typically they cannot physically do the projects themselves and cannot afford to pay to have them done. Non-profit groups submit projects that have been on the back burner because their clients’ needs come first. By having projects completed by volunteers they can use their funds to serve our community. When a project requires supplies that the agency or individual cannot afford the team can either gather the supplies themselves or, because of local sponsors, can submit a supply request to have needed supplies donated. Contact United Way for a project request form or download one at www.swunitedway.org.
Mandros, PacifiCorp Foundation, John Bunning Transfer and Solvay Chemicals are the 2020 Heling Hands Day sponsors. In addition to providing projects supplies, their sponsorships.
For more information contact Shelley Richno at the United Way of Southwest Wyoming office at 307-362-5003 or srichno@swunitedway.org.