From painting buildings to pulling weeds to dusting cobwebs, volunteers performed work for the Day of Caring, sponsored each year by the United Way of Central Texas.
As the morning breeze turned into stifling heat, a dozen or more volunteers bustled about the Camp Fire USA lodge. Volunteers sifted gravel beneath swing sets, cleared walking and biking trails of branches and gave the inside of the lodge a much-needed paint job.
“It helps everybody that helps our kids,” said Walt Prothro, a volunteer from Temple school district.
The camp serves more than 1,000 people each year, between campouts for Camp Fire USA boys and girls, church camps and reunions.
Karen Allman, District II director for Camp Fire USA Tejas council, said the volunteer work will improve the look of the lodge and make it safer for campers.
“We want people to have a really good feel about camp,” she said.
Prothro and Amy Scopac, another Temple school volunteer, set to work chopping and hauling large loads of logs. Even as sweat spilt down their faces, smiles graced their lips.
“It’s all for the kids,” Prothro said as he and Scopac moved an abnormally large branch from the playground. “Our heart [is] in it.”
After an hour and a half of work, Scopac said they could already see a difference.
“We’ve made a safer playground,” she said.
Aside from physical changes, Prothro said it also assists agencies financially.
“What we’re doing realistically is saving money,” Prothro said.
Instead of agencies spending money to provide maintenance, Prothro said they can use that money to directly help children.
But helping doesn’t always come free of risks.
Prothro, still grinning, held up a log with a small snake slithering through its cracks, joking about the hazards of cleaning up the wilderness.
For volunteers working with Habitat for Humanity, there was no house to be built Friday. With owning a home comes the responsibility of maintaining a yard. About 15 volunteers helped construct a shed for a Habitat home.
“For lawn mowers and tools - we’re giving them a place for that,” said Ronnie Hobbs, a volunteer with Pactiv Corp. in Temple.
Nathan Wilson with Habitat for Humanity said Habitat homes never have garages, so the organization always tries to provide a shed for recipients to store outdoor equipment.
“It’s a good project,” Hobbs said. “It has an immediate impact on the family.”
Another stop for volunteers was Christian Farms–Treehouse, Inc.
Treehouse is a residential drug and alcohol treatment center that currently treats 10 clients. However, executive director Jon Crosby said the center usually hosts 25 clients at a time.
“We like to help people when we can but sometimes we can’t,” Crosby said about the center’s limited funds.
Volunteers turned a drab hallway into a light rosy-colored hallway, while others washed windows, clipped tree limbs and pulled weeds at the playground.
“It’s important to keep facilities like ours looking nice,” Crosby said. “It’s easy to neglect things if your focus is people.”
Sam Morin and Stanley Maxwell, both volunteers with Materials Transportation Corp., tackled the dozens of windows framing the center.
“We wanted to show people there are others that care,” Maxwell said.
Stanley added, “It was something I could do - help somebody out in the community.”
The two men volunteered last year at Peaceable Kingdom where they did yard work and cleaned the pools.
“I just get joy out of doing it,” Stanley said. “Maybe it just helps me. But hopefully, it’s helping in some way.”
United Way’s day of caring was created in 2001, only days after Sept. 11.
“It began with just two or three projects, maybe 25 volunteers and a blood bank,” said Ann Thompson, executive director for United Way of Central Texas.
This year, the day boasted attendance of a record 215 volunteers with 27 projects.
“It’s a great way for the volunteers to have hands on experience,” Thompson said.
lfrase@temple-telegram.com
