ESTEVAN — Estevan came together to get some work done in time for summer.
The United Way Estevan Day of Caring took place Wednesday all across the city and in the surrounding area. This year, the organization received just under 60 projects, which included window washing, grass cutting, gardening and planting, indoor and outdoor cleaning, painting and more. To meet those needs, the United Way had just under 150 volunteers to accomplish the tasks, which allowed for a good workload ratio.
"We were able to have people assigned for all of the projects, so that was good," said Shelly Veroba, who co-chairs the Day of Caring committee alongside Wendy Gustafson. "We also had the SRC students [from the Estevan Comprehensive School] come out, they were down helping out with the Humane Society."
She noted that almost every business in town was involved with the Day of Caring in some way. Some businesses would send individuals or groups to help, others donated supplies and/or equipment for the day or for lunch. Private people also signed up to do projects.
When all applications were in, the event committee strategically matched volunteers to projects so that, first, the day would flow and all projects would get done, and second, people volunteering would also have a good time.
"We have a lot of great companies that will send out staff … And we have a lot of companies that have been with us for a long time," Veroba said
"It's such a great community event because it really brings a lot of businesses out to help, and people sign up by themselves, too, and we'll put them with people they've never met before, and by the end of the day, they're just fantastic friends because they're getting to know each other."
The weather went from perfect to a bit too hot, to thunderstorm warnings with rainfalls and tornado funnel sightings, but that didn't stop dedicated volunteers, and the day altogether went great.
"It has been awesome. It was a little bit warm in the morning, but truthfully, not too bad," Veroba said.
Volunteers were tasked with a lot of bigger projects this year, including work at the Estevan Bible Camp, Estevan Humane Society, Creighton Lodge, Estevan Regional Nursing Home, St. Joseph's Hospital and others. The medium-sized ones included the Estevan Day Care as well as a few at residences.
"We have a few of our regular ladies that are widows, and they like to have us come once a year to help with their annual yard work, getting their yards started. So, it's been a really good time," she said.
Veroba noted that due to the rain, painting and staining projects were under question for the day, but they would get done eventually when the weather co-operates. But the absolute majority of their tasks were checkmarked by the end of the day, leaving many people happy.
The residents of Trinity Tower reached out to the Mercury to forward their gratitude to volunteers that came out and did all their indoor and outdoor spring projects.
"The residents of Trinity Tower wish to say thank you to the volunteers from various businesses who helped us on the United Way Day of Caring on Wednesday. The help is so much appreciated by our residents," they said in a message.
Veroba said the people she had a chance to visit with were also very happy and grateful for the help they received from others that day.
"Everybody that I did talk to was extremely happy for all the help volunteers with the Day of Caring gave them," Veroba said.
Sunshine baskets – a feature that was introduced during the pandemic, when projects weren't possible, and included the delivery of a basket with various small gifts and an optional visitation – were also a big hit.
"The sunshine baskets were a huge success again this year, we had over 25. And this year, a lot of people were interested not only in the sunshine basket but also in the visits that go with it. They were very happy to have the sunshine basket and extremely happy to have someone to visit with," Veroba said.
Some people applied for a basket and a project. In those cases, the United Way would send a group of people, some of whom were more inclined towards doing physical work, while others would visit. The volunteers' age ranged from 15 to 75, so there was a perfect match for everyone.
"We find something for everyone to do. Age is not a factor in whether or not you can help at Day of Caring, we always try and find something," Veroba said.
Another important part of the Day of Caring was the lunch at the Alliance Church. The meal, organized with support from local businesses, brought together volunteers and people who applied to have projects done.
"With the barbecue, we invite volunteers and the people who put projects in, so they're able to also join us and then they join with the volunteers and they all eat together, get to know each other. It's a really great feeling when you're down here," Veroba said.
