The predicted rain held off and the skies were clear as over 300 volunteers from around the community flooded Fellowship Hall at East Main Presbyterian Church bright and early April 26. The reason for the gathering? The Grove City Area United Way 2008 Spring Day of Caring.

People from all over the Grove City area and surrounding communities came together as families, businesses, church, school, college and civic groups joined in the annual event.

Following a delicious breakfast provided by Red Roo Fine Foods Catering, the volunteers were greeted by myself; Tera Dent, Americorps member; and Karl Hart, board member. They were praised for their commitment to improving the lives of Grove City area residents by giving up their Saturday morning to help those in need.

Volunteers were sent out to over 60 different project sites in the area, mostly to elderly and disabled residents’ homes, where they performed such services as window and car washing, leaf raking and other yard work, and cleaning out cupboards, garages and sheds.

Ryan Burns, who was one of over 40 USIS employees to give of their time, had a great time.

“Saturday was such a rewarding day for us. We were impressed by how well Amy and Tera planned and organized things to accomplish so much in just one day. Plus, it was very satisfying, lending a hand to someone who really needs that help. I personally was also proud that over 40 of my fellow USIS employees turned out to help. We have a great bunch of people working in Grove City. And raking leaves with the Girl Scouts – what a lively bunch! They were a hard-working group of kids who knew how to make work fun. They give us a lot of hope for the future,” Burns said.

As one traveled around Grove City that morning, the white T-shirts that Ithen Global provided the volunteers stood out everywhere as people cleaned up Wolf Creek, Olde Town Grove City, the pavilions in Memorial Park, the borough playgrounds and the YMCA.

Kathy Distasi, whose nearly entire family volunteered for the Day of Caring, and whose husband Vince serves on the United Way board, was assigned to Memorial Park’s large picnic pavilion with Girl Scout Troop 452. Kathy said it meant a lot to be able to participate in Day of Caring, especially as a family.

Vince, of course, had his United Way board duties; Julie and I were with Julie’s junior Girl Scout troop; and Andy was with the National Junior Honor Society from Grove City Middle School. (Maria had to go to dance classes.)

It was exciting to walk into East Main Fellowship Hall and see so many people – adults, children, organizations – who were there to help. The girls from our Girl Scout troop participated so eagerly and really worked hard on our projects while still having fun. I doubt there was a single germ left on that playground equipment after they were done cleaning and disinfecting it!

Both Andy and Julie said that, even though they were working, they had fun and that it felt good to be helping the community.

One of my favorite parts of the day was toward the end when we weren’t sure we were going to be able to finish cleaning the leaves out of the pavilion at the park. (We ended up with 13 huge bags just from that one pavilion!) All of a sudden, people who had already finished their projects for the day just showed up and joined in with us to help us finish. It was a true community effort. We will definitely look forward to participating again next year.

The United Way’s new slogan is “Live United. Give. Advocate. Volunteer.” On April 26, Grove City was a shining example of that logo as people from all walks of life joined for one goal – to make Grove City an even better place to live.

Info: call 724-458-4527 or e-mail gcunitedway@zoominternet.net.