Annual “Day of Caring” Volunteer Event Unites Community in Service
From restocking a local food pantry to cutting down and clearing out overgrown tree limbs and debris, a small army of nearly 700 volunteers fanned out across the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro last month. Their mission? Getting to work helping more than 46 nonprofit organizations across Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie counties.
A team from First National Bank of Omaha and JE Dunn were tasked with helping Habit for Humanity Council Bluffs with a home build. It’s a home that will be donated to a single mother of three. They finished the morning by installing two front windows. “One of the great things about volunteering is that we get a little perspective that we didn’t have otherwise,” said Tim Connors, a volunteer with FNBO. “Sometimes we get insulated in our everyday lives, we don’t realize how many people are living on the poverty line needing assistance. Something like this, can really help them out.”
Held every year since 2001, United Way of the Midlands’ “Day of Caring” is a national day of service where volunteers from across the metro community spend their day helping local nonprofits fulfill a variety of needs – from paperwork, painting, stocking shelves and yardwork to everything in between. This year, employee teams from local companies, as well as individual volunteers, participated in about 100 volunteer projects across the metro area.
At Community Alliance, volunteers put on gloves, grabbed a rake or a saw and got to work with some much-needed outdoor work to prep for winter. “It’s just such a good feeling to be able to help somebody else out,” said Phil Beckenhauer in an interview with KETV.
“We are so grateful to our corporate partners who provide time off for their employees, and to the hundreds of volunteers who share their time and talents on ‘Day of Caring,’” said Shawna Forsberg, president and CEO of United Way of the Midlands. “They make such a difference providing much-needed help to vital non-profit organizations in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro.”
This event connects individuals and company employee teams with the needs that exist in neighborhoods across our community. By participating, these volunteers strengthen the local organizations that partner with UWM to make a difference in the metro area.
United Way of the Midlands would like to offer a “Thank You” to the following partners who participated in this year’s “Day of Caring”:
- ABB Nebraska
- BCDM Architects
- Black Hills Energy
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska
- Buildertrend
- College of Saint Mary
- Columbia Insurance Group
- Cox Communications
- Creighton University
- Data Axle
- Encore Energy Services
- FNBO
- FNIC
- Goodwill Industries
- Harry A. Koch Company
- Heartland Family Service
- JE Dunn Construction Co.
- JEO Consulting Group
- Jewish Federation of Omaha
- Learning Without Tears
- Lincoln Financial Group
- Lockton
- Lozier Corporation
- Medica
- Nebraska Medicine
- Nebraska Total Care
- OPPD
- Scoular
- Security National Bank
- Teammates
- TSYS Merchant Solutions
- Turner Construction Co.
- Union Pacific Railroad
- United Way of the Midlands
- University of Nebraska Medical Center
- UPS
- Valmont Industries, Inc.
Get Involved
If you missed volunteering for “Day of Caring” or you’d like to volunteer again, you can lend a hand and get involved with United Way of the Midlands Holiday Helpers. The program runs November – December and it’s a great way to volunteer and make an immediate impact in our community. Through Holiday Helpers, families are given hope and reassurance that they can share the joy of the holiday season with their family, without worry. For more information about Holiday Helpers, click below: