UNITED WAY: Week of Caring underway

Published 9:30 am Thursday, September 17, 2020

For the last 22 years, the United Way of Athens-Limestone County has helped organize an annual week in which hundreds of volunteers work together to combat those challenges. With a pandemic, however, the 23rd annual Week of Caring had to move away from its usual group and outdoor activities.

“This year, as everybody will tell you, has just been a challenging year in terms of being able to do the typical things we do,” United Way ALC Executive Director Kaye McFarlen said. “COVID-19 has impacted everybody.”

So, they set up a list of community service shower projects for United Way ALC’s partner agencies. Volunteers are able to choose a project and gather the items listed, which in turn go to help one of the agencies continue their work for the people they serve.

Collection for Week of Caring runs through Friday, but McFarlen said volunteers can drop off and show their support for the partner agencies year-round.

“We can collect all year round and make sure it gets to these organizations,” McFarlen said. “There’s nothing special about a date. It’s about continuing to do this all the time.”

Details for each project are below. Individuals and businesses can contact United Way ALC at 256-233-2323 for help coordinating collection and dropoff or pickup of items.

United Way is also selling T-shirts to raise funds for its partner agencies. Available in heather red, the shirts are $5 each and feature the words “LIVE UNITED” across the front. Volunteers who participate in Week of Caring or Day of Caring projects receive a shirt free.

“We want people to be thinking about all those challenges in the community and all the support groups in place to make this a better time,” McFarlen said. “… For everybody looking at challenges, there’s a lot of people on the backside thinking, ‘How do we make this work? How do we make it better?'”

Projects

Here are the service projects featured in Week of Caring 2020:

• Assorted basket, Birdie Thornton Center — Disposable cameras, refillable water bottles, Bingo cards and daubs, Mason jars, cotton balls;

• Jewelry basket, BTC — Memory wire for jewelry, jewelry beads;

• Art basket, BTC — Glitter, acrylic paints, plastic paint pots, paint brushes, small paint canvases, paint by numbers, glue, markers, construction paper;

• Ticket basket, BTC — Tickets for Ave Maria Grotto, Helen Keller Museum, W.C. Handy Museum, Alabama Music Hall of Fame or Florence Indian Museum;

• Gardening basket, BTC — Small plants, potting soil, terracotta plant pots, birdseed;

• Cleaning basket, Family Resource Center — Lysol spray, disinfectant products, latex gloves, disposable or cloth masks;

• Client care bag, FRC — Disinfectant products, masks, hand sanitizer, tissues;

• Client care bag, FRC — Laundry detergent, wipes, paper towels, toilet paper;

• Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama — Crayons, markers, scissors and other school supplies;

• Tutoring basket, Learn-to-Read Council — Scented colored markers, crayons, glue sticks, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, dry-erase markers;

• Client items, Salvation Army — Ready-to-eat meals, instant potatoes, travel-sized personal care items (soap, shampoo, toothpaste);

• Student activity, Boys & Girls Club of Ardmore — Potting soil, small flower pots, seeds;

• Student activity, BGC Ardmore — Construction paper, paper plates, empty jars with screw lids, film canisters, rubber bands;

• Student activity, BGC Ardmore — Vinegar, baking soda, vegetable oil, food coloring, dish soap, seltzer tablets; and

• Student activity, BGC Ardmore — Balloons, empty CD cases.

Other items needed by partner agencies include:

• FRC — $10 gas cards;

• Learn-to-Read Council — White or colored copier paper, paper towels, toilet paper, disinfectant spray, disinfectant wipes;

• Salvation Army — Disinfectant wipes, disinfectant spray, paper towels, 4-foot fluorescent bulbs;

• Boys & Girls Club of Athens — Art and cleaning supplies, individually packaged snacks, educational workbooks, laptops, paint for outdoor playground equipment;

United Way ALC is also seeking sponsors. Volunteers can sponsor a Wi-Fi hotspot for a local student ($20), student attendance to a Career & College Workshop ($25) or participation in an ACT prep class ($100).