Volunteers gather June 22 for United Way Day of Caring projects

KITSAP COUNTY — Now is the time to sign up to volunteer during the 25th annual United Way Day of Caring, which will take place on Friday, June 22.

The event usually attracts between 450 and 500 volunteers, said Carl Borg, United Way of Kitsap County’s executive director. Organizers hope to surpass previous numbers this year.

Borg said with the Navy carriers now in port, he hopes Navy volunteers will join the rest to help complete about 30 projects throughout Kitsap County.

“The Day of Caring is a one-day event where we try to bring out as many volunteers as we can to do the projects,” Borg said. “It’s just a way to give back to the community.”

Borg said the event started as a way to help nonprofits complete projects that may require a large volunteer group. It has since been extended to include city and county projects, especially at parks.

“It gives them the opportunity to get some of the things done,” Borg said. “There was one year that it rained really hard up in Fish Park [in Poulsbo], and it had changed the way the river flowed.”

The Day of Caring volunteers worked to rework the river’s flow.

The 2018 projects include, but are not limited, to:

• Gardening projects at the Bremerton Airport, Haselwood Family YMCA, Cedar Heights and other locations;

• Helping run a golf tournament at Holly Ridge Center;

• Organizing donations at Silverdale Goodwill;

• Building a new park in Silverdale, and;

• Cleaning up Kingston trails.

“It’s a phenomenal event,” Borg said.

For more information and to register to work on a project, visit volunteerkitsap.org.