Day of Caring Participants Go to Work on Housing

The 2004 Day of Caring was another opportunity to affirm United Way of Pierce County's commitment to housing availability and to working collaboratively to solve housing problems. Teams worked on a number of housing projects for Day of Caring that included programs like Network Tacoma and Martin Luther King Housing Association. Through work on these projects, volunteers are able to support programs that make up the safety net of services.

One very exciting project was a unique partnership with UWPC, the American Leadership Foundation's (ALF) 10th class and Wells Fargo Financial Services. Each year ALF selects leaders in the community to learn more about ways they can resolve problems. Class 10 chose to focus on ending sub-standard housing in the Hilltop Neighborhood, also known as the Central District. One crucial step to eliminating blighted homes is to take stock of the condition homes are in.

On this year's Day of Caring, 26 volunteers from Wells Fargo Financial Services worked with staff from UWPC, and ALF students to do a quick assessment of how safe each home was. The teams covered 56 blocks. The data will be compiled and presented to the community in an effort to draw attention to the need for safe, decent housing affordable to people living in the Central District. The project showed us all how much revitalization has already taken place there and how important that has been for the families who live in the area. Wells Fargo Financial understood the contribution they made that day and agreed to come back to finish the remaining blocks.

For United Way, this kind of project is an example of what can happen when you bring together people who care about their community to help resolve the most pressing issues.