What do you get when 550 generous, community-minded individuals mobilize? Well, you’d get something a lot like the 2013 Day of Caring – a community-wide impact that will be visible for years to come.
This year’s Day of Caring was just that. A record breaking group of volunteers tackled a record number of needs. There’s nothing more inspiring than people who love this community taking action – lending their resources, passion, expertise and valuable time to make it an even better place.
Why 550
We didn’t recruit 550 volunteers for the sake of breaking records. We did it because our community is growing, needs are on the rise and our local nonprofits are doing all they can to keep up.
Community organizations rely heavily on volunteers. Every hour of volunteer work equates to vital dollars that can be put to work in our community. Not all of the opportunities are glamorous, but they are all needs that would deflect resources from the true mission of the organization. Volunteers free up time and allows our local nonprofit agencies to focus their time and expertise on tackling the issues that plague our community – ultimately providing life changing services to our neighbors in need.
Day of Caring is a true expression of the power of volunteerism. The event is volunteer-driven from top to bottom. This year’s Co-Chairs, Mia Amini and Molly Brooks, began the planning process in March. They identified potential projects, recruited volunteer Team Captains to help assist in project planning, conducted media interviews, helped create awareness and mobilized local businesses and individuals to action.
Why volunteer?
We’re always wondering what motivates our volunteers. So this Day of Caring we decided to ask. We received a wide variety of responses. Everything from 10-year-old Luke who came out with his family “because I just wanted to help and it was on my summer to do list”, to Dakota Zoo Team Captain Dean Mastel who has participated in Day of Caring for the past eight years, “The reason I volunteer is I love this community, Bismarck-Mandan is my home and I love it.” To Dan who came out with a group of volunteers from his church to lend a hand at Charles Hall Youth Services (CHYS), “because they’re (CHYS) doing great thing for young people in our community. It’s just a great opportunity for us to reach out and cause an impact.”
At MSA United Way, we’re supporting the building blocks of stronger communities and better lives. For more information, visit msaunitedway.org.
A special thanks to all of the Day of Caring sponsors, volunteers and in-kind contributors!
Premiere Sponsors: Wells Fargo, Scheels and BNC National Bank
Event Sponsors: KXMB-TV, MDU Resources Group, Inc. and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment
Presenting Sponsors: Precision Underground and Eide Bailly
Corporate Sponsors: Capital Trophy and Tesoro Refinery and Mktg LLC
MSA United Way - Bismarck, North Dakota 