United Way of Greater Charlottesville, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation and Women United had a wonderful time celebrating April as National Volunteer Month by co-hosting the United Way Family Day of Service on Saturday, April 18 at the Albemarle High School gymnasium.
Dozens of community members volunteered–including both children and adults–to assemble more than 1,000 “Family Support Kits” for local families in need. Kits included laundry detergent pods, dryer sheets, toothpaste and toothbrushes, and more.
“We asked some of our community partners who also work directly with local families to better understand what we could put into the kits that would most help them. They confirmed with us what we’ve learned through all of our work across our region–that the best way to support local children’s early care and education is to support the child’s family” said Ravi Cooper, President and CEO of United Way of Greater Charlottesville. “They provided us with an up-to-date list of items these families most need right now, which is what informed the supplies we purchased for the kits.”
Click here to see all the photos from the event!
Many community partners attended the event and picked up their kits to be distributed to local families. The United Way team will deliver remaining kits to those who weren’t able to pick their kits up on Saturday. Community partners include ReadyKids, Child Health Partnership, Albemarle Foundation for Education, and Piedmont Family YMCA.
“We are so excited to partner with United Way at the Family Day of Service to help keep families in our community safe and healthy.” said Kimberly Skelly, Executive Director of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation, who cohosted the event. “Our team at Sentara is always looking for ways to give back, and this is a wonderful fit. We’re proud to partner with United Way through year-round initiatives including Day of Caring and the MLK Day of Service. Volunteer events like this offer a meaningful opportunity for our staff to connect beyond the office and hospital setting.”
Volunteers were encouraged to bring their children to volunteer alongside them and the United Way team even planned a dedicated kids project onsite involving assembling and decorating seed packets for the kits. Amanda Litchfield, Chair of Women United who is the third cohost of the event, noted how impactful it will is to have families volunteering together: “This event was such a great opportunity to demonstrate the spirit of community service and helping one another to little ones! Service and philanthropy are key values to us at Women United and you can’t start to teach them too soon! Plus, this project was quick, indoors away from the day’s heat, and ended at the perfect time of day to grab lunch and a treat together afterwards.”
The United Way Family Day of Service volunteer project was cohosted by United Way of Greater Charlottesville, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, and Women United. The event was also supported by partners at Albemarle County, Book Baskets, and Shenandoah Joe Coffee Roasters. The United Way Family Day of Service is part of United Way’s volunteerism efforts that also include the Day of Caring, MLK Day of Service, Cville Volunteer, and more. United Way empowers and convenes local individuals, families, and organizations around volunteerism and advocacy in order to shape our community into a place where all can thrive.