Volunteers will work to help ALICE households.
Frederick, Md (KM) The 2023 Day of Action takes place this Friday, ,October 6th. . Erin Lawson, Director of Resource Development and Marketing for the United Way of Frederick County, says it’s about volunteers making a difference in the community. “We have about 350 volunteers coming out to do 31 service projects simultaneously throughout the county “; she says. “Ranging from landscaping to painting to building risers for the children’s chorus; a variety of different projects.”
Lawson says one of the projects is packing and delivering weekend food packages for Blessings in a Backpack. “We’ll have a team that’s going over to the Rescue Mission to serve meals. We’ll have another team that’s going to Sophie and Madigan’s Playground to do some paint touch up, some landscaping there to make sure the playground is clean and looking beautiful for the children who are coming to visit that awesome park,” she says.
Some teams will also be helping out Platoon 22 and Heartly House.
One activity Friday involves a large-scale Chromebook distribution. “United Way of Frederick County is distributing Chromebooks to eligible families. So those who are below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or qualify for one of the other programs like WIC or SNAP,”: says Lawson. WIC is the Women with Infant Children program , and SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The United Way says these activities on Friday will work to better the lives of the ALICE households in Frederick County. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
Lawson says the United Way has plenty of volunteers for Friday, but residents can assist by donating household items to benefit non-profits in the area. “Personal care items like shampoo, body wash, deodorant, diapers and feminine hygiene products. So the public is certainly welcome to help out with that,” she says,
The donated items will benefit I Believe in Me, the Love for Lochlin Foundation, Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership (SHIP) and the Spanish Speaking Community of Maryland.
Citizens can drop off these items on Friday at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM.
Lawson points out that these volunteers who are helping out on Friday work at local corporations. “A great opportunity for them to network either with their specific team in their organization, or with new co-workers they may not have met,” she says.
And it can help them expand their horizons. “Potentially, learning about a new organization that they may not have previously been engaged with. A lot of these folks are really community minded and so just getting to hear and learn more about different organizations in the community is often beneficial to them,” says Lawson.
By Kevin McManus