U.Va. Employees Make a Difference during Annual Day of Caring

Volunteers painting a mural of famous people on the wall of an elementary school

U.Va. volunteers from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs work on completing a mural of famous people at Scottsville Elementary School.

Sept. 20, 2007 -- University of Virginia volunteers for the 16th annual Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring were out in full force on Sept. 19, supplying talented hands, deft eyes and skilled ears to a variety of projects that included painting walls and pictures, creating activities for children, sewing blankets, clearing brush, assisting child care providers, removing invasive plants and gardening for many not-for-profit agencies in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

The academic side of the University provided 42 teams, with approximately 736 volunteers, and the Health System provided 45 teams with approximately 556 volunteers. This is an increase in volunteers for both parts of the University over last year, up from 583 for the academic side and 424 on the Health System side.

In all, nearly 2,500 volunteers in the Charlottesville area donated their time. Some 230 projects were completed at 114 agencies and schools in Charlottesville and Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa and Nelson counties. Employees from more than 70 local businesses, churches and civic organizations contributed more than 13,000 man-hours to the day’s events.

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