United Way plans for kickoff breakfast, look for local projects

United Way will be handling its kickoff celebration a bit differently this year.

The annual breakfast on Aug. 26 will lead into the Day of Caring, but the day will last two days instead of one, going into the following Saturday.

The Day of Caring is, in this case, a two-day event where the United Way will mobilize volunteers to work on philanthropic projects across the county. These projects can be any kind of service project, from distributing food to rebuilding roofs and sidewalks.

Executive director of the United Way David English said the breakfast will take place at the Inn at DePauw from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 26, including a half-hour program regarding the Day of Caring.

At 9 a.m., the volunteers will leave the breakfast wearing the traditional yellow shirts to work on the various projects assigned to them.

English said the project may be in relation to any particular area, person, organization or landmark in the county. The group often works on the People Pathways and the Putnam County Fairgrounds as examples. Any community member can suggest a project for the volunteers to work on.

"We want to reach out to the public with community projects they have," English said. "I know they're out there."

English said he hopes that with the extra day, the volunteers can work on larger projects and do more.

The number of volunteers has grown every year since the United Way began doing the project four years ago, with 200 volunteers helping last year. This year, English said he hopes to hit 250 volunteers.

"If we get 250 volunteers, we're going to be able to do a lot," English said.