Team UHS turns out for Day of Caring

Eight teams of UHS employees volunteered for the 2020 Day of Caring September 11 at charity venues across the Southern Tier. 

As many as 64 UHS employees had signed up to participate by the start of the event.  Cooler temperatures made the work quite bearable, as UHS staff rolled up their sleeves to support the annual activity presented by United Way of Broome County.

Teams deployed to the locations early Friday morning and immediately began pitching in to spruce up the nonprofit sites under the direction of site supervisors.  The UHS groups joined other volunteers from across the community in stepping up for local health and human service agencies, parks, attractions and other nonprofit sites to clean, sweep, paint, dig, plant and repair.  Day of Caring volunteers like those from UHS furnish the support needed to accomplish projects that many nonprofit organizations wouldn't otherwise have the resources to complete on their own, United Way executives said. 

Whether indoors or out, the work takes a lot of elbow grease, but there also is time for refreshments, camaraderie and moments of fun.  This year masks and physical distancing were par for the course, as volunteers adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

UHS traditionally is a strong supporter of Day of Caring, which commemorates the heroism and self-sacrifice of Americans in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  Participation is evidence of UHS employees' devotion to reaching out to help others, whether in the workplace or the community, said John M. Carrigg, president and chief executive officer of UHS.  John has volunteered on a Day of Caring team every year since United Way inaugurated the event in 2002.

The impact extends well beyond beautification.  The volunteers’ contributions of time allow many agencies involved to reallocate funds that would have been spent on capital projects back into programming and direct services for local residents.

This year's UHS sites were:  TechWorks!, Boys and Girls Club of Binghamton, Discovery Center of the Southern Tier, YMCA-Binghamton Branch, Roberson Museum & Science Center and IBM Glen in Greater Binghamton, plus an animal shelter in Syracuse.

See pictures from this year's Day of Caring below: