For Go All IN Day, United Way sends volunteers to help nonprofits, grassroots groups with projects
On June 24, United Way of Central Indiana will send volunteers to nonprofits, community groups and grassroots organizations across the region to help them complete projects on their to-do lists.
For some projects, volunteers will get their hands dirty outside: pulling weeds, raking mulch. Others will be simple indoor jobs, such as assembling sack lunches.
No matter the project, the goal is the same: connect hundreds of volunteers to dozens of organizations for a day of community-wide service and volunteering, Go All IN Day, sponsored this year by WRTV.
Spots are still open for those interested in hosting a project, and United Way is asking nonprofits, community groups and grassroots organizations to sign up by May 2 at goallinday.com.
Groups with an annual operating budget of $1 million or less will be able to apply for grant funding for their projects.
United Way also will host two virtual learning sessions that day to give groups in need of board members and long-term volunteers a chance to talk directly with interested volunteers. (Organizations can sign up for the virtual sessions online by clicking “sign up my nonprofit organization.”)
Volunteers can sign up online to participate individually or register with a group of friends, co-workers or family members. United Way will connect them with projects based on their interests once all have been submitted.
United Way hosted its first Go All IN Day in September, when more than 500 volunteers completed over 70 projects – everything from sorting donated shoes to landscaping. The goal is to expand this year, with more volunteers and more organizations across Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan and Putnam counties.
Want to participate but unsure what kind of project to host? Here’s a look at a few successful projects from last year:
Building care kits for seniors
Seniors were hard hit by isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.
To brighten spirits and provide homebound seniors with needed household supplies, United Way organized more than 100 volunteers to assemble 800 care kits.
On Go All IN Day, volunteers gathered at four locations – in Greencastle, Greenfield, Lebanon and United Way's headquarters in Indianapolis – to fill care packages with items that SNAP benefits don’t cover. The bags included batteries, postage stamps, tissues and paper towels, dish and hand soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, disinfecting wipes, adhesive bandages, masking tape, word searches and toilet cleaner – to name a few.
Meijer served as a sponsor and donated items, including grocery tote bags.
Volunteers included employees of Eli Lilly and Company and students from DePauw University’s Hartman Center for Civic Engagement. Families also signed up to help, building care kits at home and dropping them off at United Way.
CICOA Aging and In-Home Solutions helped deliver the care kits to homes and community centers across United Way’s seven-county service area.
“We wanted it to be far reaching,” said Jody Pope, United Way’s special events director.
Mulching, gardening, landscaping
A handful of last year’s projects shared a common theme: dirt.
Volunteers pulled on gardening gloves, picked up shovels and grabbed wheelbarrows.
They harvested fresh produce and prepared gardens for winter at Growing Places Indy. They spread fresh mulch for a playground at Westminster Neighborhood Services. They prepped the earth for a memorial garden at Mental Health America of Hendricks County. And they landscaped at The Salvation Army’s Worship and Community Center at Eagle Creek.
Neighborhood clean-up and canvassing
About 40 volunteers headed to Recovery Café Indy, picking up trash in the neighborhood, handing out flyers and snacks to neighbors, spreading the word about the cafe's services and an upcoming anniversary barbecue.
A $500 micro-grant from United Way helped fund supplies and refreshments.
Go All IN Day helped the cafe's members feel supported and helped the organization recruit several long-term volunteers and a larger crowd for its anniversary celebration, said Aubre Jean, the cafe’s program manager.
Jean said participating in Go All IN Day felt like being part of something larger, coming together with others to better the community.
You can read more about Recovery Café Indy’s project in Charitable Advisors.
