Locally, more than 220 volunteers gathered at Elkins City Park for the Tygart Valley United Way event Monday. The volunteers took part in a free lunch and a short meeting before embarking to numerous locations to provide renovation and beautification work. Each volunteer was given a T-shirt and the work was scheduled was from noon to 4 p.m.

“It was great that we were able to have some nice weather for the (beginning of the) event,” said Brittny Drennen, regional engagement director with United Way in Elkins and surrounding counties. “We are very happy with the turnout of volunteers. We actually had 60 working just here in Elkins. It was nice that this many people took time out of their schedules to help out.”

The volunteers’ stops in Randolph County included: The Randolph County Public Library (beautifying the library grounds), the Randolph-Tucker Children’s Advocacy Center (staining staircase and privacy fence), Catholic Charities of WV (working on food pantry and stocking freezers), the Randolph County Humane Society (replacing fence at play yards) and the Elkins YMCA (landscaping).

Groups of volunteers also traveled to Barbour County and Tucker County to help with several organizations. In Barbour County they worked at improving facilities at the Barbour County Heart and Hand House, and the Barbour County Senior Center.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley Hundreds of volunteers gathered at Elkins City Park to take part in the United Way’s Day of Action Monday.

The Tucker County stop was at the Tucker County Family Resource Network, where volunteers prepared backpacks for children to use during the upcoming school year.

“It’s pretty cool that the Day of Action happened to fall (at the same time as) West Virginia Day,” Drennen said. “Most of the projects we worked on today were beautifying, so it was a great way to celebrate West Virginia and give back.”

Tygart Valley United Way’s Day of Action saw the largest group of volunteers in the project’s history, hosting more than 200 volunteers at 28 projects across the organization’s five county region. The special day of service is sponsored by WVU Medicine.

“We are thrilled with the turn out of this year’s event!” said Emily Swain, director of community impact. “Each year, United Ways across the United States celebrate the first day of summer with a nationwide day of volunteer service, and we are so proud of our volunteers for being part of that big day. Non-profit agencies haven’t stopped providing much needed service throughout the pandemic, so this is our way of giving back to them and thanking them for their hard work.”

“This last year has certainly been one for the record books,” said Chief Executive Officer Brett White. “We have seen our community come together like never before and rally together in order to help others through the pandemic. And, with our expansion, we have the opportunity to be change agents across our entire region.”

In response to that need for connectivity and support, Tygart Valley United Way is partnering with Unite Us to build and grow Unite West Virginia, a coordinated care network of health and social care providers, to better address people’s social needs and improve health across communities through strengthened collaboration and streamlined referrals. White said, “We know now, more than ever, what needs exist in our community and understand what a difference coordinated care can make to folks who are experiencing hardships.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to expand our Unite West Virginia network into the Tygart Valley and surrounding counties,” said Devon Lopez, community engagement manager for United West Virginia. “As a West Virginia native, I am excited to collaborate with Tygart Valley United Way to build a robust network in our community through the Unite Us Platform. The Tygart Valley United Way has been instrumental in informing this network expansion, and we could not have done this work without their partnership!”

Drennen said, “As we can see with the turn out for Day of Action, our citizens truly care about their communities. This is especially important for the United Way, as we also launch United for Kids today, our annual collection drive for school pantries in our five counties.”

The hygiene and other personal care items that are collected between now and Aug. 6 will be distributed to all 50 schools in Marion, Randolph, Taylor, Barbour and Tucker counties. Drop-off locations are located throughout all five counties and individuals can also shop online using the Amazon Wishlist that has been set up for the program. More information about drop off locations can be found at http://www.tvunitedway.org/unitedforkids.

“We are so thankful to WVU Medicine for sponsoring this day of service. Our volunteers, partners, and donors are the lifeblood of United Way, and we could not be any more grateful to them for the work that’s being done in our region,” added White. “They are truly Living United!”