Record 2,300 volunteer on Day of Caring

United Way of the Ozarks’ first Day of Caring took place in 1993 at Phelps Grove Park with a handful of volunteers. Jill Finney, vice president of communications and volunteers at United Way, said the idea began with Roseann Bentley.

“I went to a United Way national meeting out on the coast,” said Bentley, a former state senator and Greene County commissioner. “It seemed that it would just fit Springfield perfectly.”

On June 22, a record 2,300 volunteers from 148 Springfield-area companies came out in support of United Way’s 25th annual Day of Caring.

“It turned out the way we wanted it to,” Bentley said. “And it’s still going strong.”

Finney said there were 300 more volunteers this year compared with last year and, in all, 127 different agencies received help, including United Way, which Finney said now has a picnic table thanks to work by KOLR10 News.

Day of Caring is an opportunity for Springfield residents and businesses to reach out to their neighbors with a helping hand, she added. The event also allows company colleagues to come together to get to know each other outside of the office.

Employees working together, after all, builds teamwork, said Bass Pro Shops Communications Director Jack Wlezien.

He said the company had 50 volunteers at four sites across the Ozarks, including Ozark Greenway Trails, James River Basin Partnership and Missouri Veterans Cemetery.

The fourth group stayed home at Bass Pro’s headquarters to teach the basics of fishing to “littles” from Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks.  

“One of our key community pillars is connecting new audiences to the outdoors, particularly children,” said Wlezien, who didn’t personally participate this year.

Bass Pro has sponsored the event every year since its inception, but Wlezien said employee volunteering is not required by the company, though it is encouraged.

“We have folks from different departments who maybe know each other from meetings, but don’t have the time to get to know one another. This day has really helped us tie together as Bass Pro has grown,” Wlezien said. “We’d encourage other organizations that didn’t participate this year to take the time to do it, because it’s worth it.”

Jennifer Barboa, a senior consultant at BKD LLP, is in her fourth year of volunteering for Day of Caring.

“Day of Caring is one of my favorite days of the year,” Barboa said while cleaning the first-floor windows of the Discovery Center.

She feels fortunate to work for a company that encourages giving back to the community.

“They will pay us to come out, but it’s totally voluntary,” she said of the company’s policy to allow volunteer time during work hours.

At Wyndham Vacation Group, workers are highly encouraged to fulfill their Wish Hours.

Wyndham Operations Manager Sharon Lawley said the program grants employees eight hours of paid volunteering time each year.

“My goal is to have everyone fulfill their Wish Hours,” Lawley said, noting the program is not required. “They get paid for it, so it’s like a (paid-time-off) day.”

During Day of Caring, 20 Wyndham employees completed their hours at Dickerson Park Zoo, the Developmental Center of the Ozarks, and at a house on Pickwick Avenue, where Lawley’s group helped Habitat for Humanity install tile.

“Some of our people have never volunteered before, and it takes one Wish Day for them to say, ‘I’m going to keep doing that,’” Lawley said. “One of our volunteers showed up at breakfast and said, ‘I underestimated the impact of this event.’”

Her colleague’s epiphany occurred while driving to the 7 a.m. volunteer breakfast, where 700 people wore bright-green Day of Caring T-shirts.

“Usually, we only have 300 or 400 people at the breakfast,” Finney said. “You can see how much it’s grown, but it’s not hard to understand why companies keep coming back.”

Of course, businesses on the receiving end enjoy the day most of all.  

“As long as they keep doing it, we’ll absolutely love it,” said Alex Verdugo, general manager for the Discovery Center. “We appreciate the community coming in and it’s great to get to know them all.”