Original Source - The News Herald
Close to 700 volunteers spread out across Lake County as part of the United Way of Lake County’s annual Day of Caring on June 24.
Nearly 50 different companies and organizations supplied the volunteers who tackled more than 80 projects.
Area nonprofit organizations, churches and other agencies, such as the Lake County Council on Aging, submit possible projects to the UWLC. These projects are then picked up by volunteer teams.
Lake County Council on Aging CEO Joe Tomsic said that partnering with the United Way is a great way to assist those who might not be able to help themselves.
“It helps folks around the county who are the most vulnerable,” Tomsic said.
A group of volunteers from the Cleveland Clinic’s Willoughby Hills location took on the task of doing yard work at four homes of elderly residents in Wickliffe, Eastlake and Willoughby.
“It was an ambitious year,” said Lynsey Pennza, one of the volunteers, after finishing up at a home on Stanford Drive in Wickliffe.
The group cleaned up the grounds of two homes on the street, filling up numerous lawn bags with weeds and branches.
Lisa Genovese, another Cleveland Clinic volunteer, said a group from the Willoughby Hills location has been participating in the Day of Caring for the past five or six years and have done work at churches and other organizations, while this was the first year they have worked at private residences.
Homeowner Anne Nevulis, watching the volunteers through her back screen door, said she has lived in her Wickliffe home for the past 52 years.
She heard through the local senior center that her neighbor across the street was getting some work completed by volunteers, so she asked if they would also be able to help her out as well.
Nevulis said the volunteers did an “excellent” job with weeding and yard work over about two hours.
“It’s a lot of stuff I can’t do anymore,” Nevulis said.
Some of the other projects completed included installing smoke alarms in Painesville, painting locker rooms at the East End Lake County YMCA and serving lunch at the Salvation Army.
Nick Carrabine, director of marketing and communications for United Way of Lake County, said volunteers get a chance to take just a few hours out of their day to make a positive change in someone’s life.
“Day of Caring is an opportunity for individuals and companies to see first-hand the needs of Lake County,” Carrabine said.