More than 400 volunteers spent time working on more than 40 projects throughout the five counties — including Westmoreland — served by the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania during its second annual Week of Caring.
“Participation is down a little this year because some of our partner companies aren’t allowing their employees to do volunteer work right now,” said Margie Solochier, United Way’s regional finance manager.
On Thursday morning, Solochier was at the Westmoreland County Food Bank along with about 20 volunteers from Scottdale energy company Penn Line and international pharmaceutical company Bayer to repaint an out-building at the Devonshire Drive property in Salem.
“We’re allotted 16 hours per year where we can go and do volunteer work,” said Bayer employee Rich Seman. “It’s really nice.”
Dave Lynn, a volunteer with Penn Line, said the company has done volunteer work directly with the food bank in previous years, but this is the first they’ve connected with the United Way.
The food bank values its partnership with the United Way, said Gina Colosimo, director of volunteerism and food drives.
“Our outreach and expansion program started with funding help from the United Way,” Colosimo said. “And when I started here, my position was funded through a United Way grant.”
In addition to the Week of Caring volunteers, Murrysville Boy Scout Thomas Hieber also was at the food bank on Thursday, working alongside his parents, Robert and Amy, to repaint the food bank building’s foundation as his Eagle Scout project for Troop 208.
“Earlier this summer, we also extended some of the landscaping at the front of the building,” Hieber said.
Week of Caring volunteers in Westmoreland County also performed weeding, mulching and other maintenance at the Clelian Heights school in Hempfield, helped with a fall clean-up at the Action for Humane Animal Society in Latrobe, organized supplies at the nonprofit Rewind-Reuse Center in Export and cleaned up a recently acquired farmhouse at the Westmoreland Land Trust’s Schwarz Farm in Hempfield. Overall, volunteers took part in 20 projects across the county.
Colosimo said the United Way’s help has been wonderful.
“They were here for us not just during the pandemic, but all the time,” she said.
