Volunteers create ‘critical mass’ at nonprofits during Day of Caring

Volunteers serving on projects throughout Las Vegas on Friday passed out meals, wrote words of encouragement, helped students prepare for college and more during United Way of Southern Nevada’s Day of Caring.

The sixth annual event encourages individuals, corporate volunteer groups, religious groups and others to help nonprofits with various projects. The day brought about 550 volunteers to 50 projects in Clark County. UWSN CEO Julian High said the intention of the day was to highlight all that can be done through volunteerism.

“The point is to show critical mass and to show we’re united in our desire to serve,” High said. “It’s a culmination of all the hard work that we do all year with our 38 partners around the valley, to show that we’re all connected and can make a difference.”

Projects — both in person and virtual — included weeding and gardening, mural painting, warehouse organization and mentoring students.

At The Just One Project, about 50 volunteers assisted with the distribution of large boxes of fresh produce, frozen chicken, bread, eggs and other staples to about 160 cars throughout the day. Some directed the cars and helped drivers check in, while others packed dry goods in the warehouse or loaded up boxes into clients’ trunks.

It’s just one of the ways the nonprofit in central Las Vegas tries to tackle hunger, said founder Brooke Neubauer. A no-cost market, a Meals on Wheels program and delivered groceries are among the other ways it tries to alleviate food insecurity.

“Hunger does not have a specific face,” Neubauer said. “It doesn’t look like one thing and it doesn’t fit into a box. I believe that most people are one or two paychecks away from being displaced from homes or not paying a car payment, or not being able to afford food. It’s really important that people take the judgment aspect of what that looks like away. It doesn’t matter if someone comes in a nice car, they could be living in their car. They could be behind on that car’s payment.”

Willie Ham was one of the volunteers directing traffic on Friday. She volunteers at The Just One Project’s drive-thru food distribution or in the market daily. A retiree, she said she enjoys feeling productive and knowing that her work helps others.

“I like it because I meet different people, I get to talk to people,” she said. “You never know who you’ll meet and you never know when you may need help.”

High, who was recently appointed to the United Way’s leading role, said seeing all the volunteer work in action was “heart filling” and necessary to address the inequities and societal challenges highlighted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to remind people that we’re still dealing with a global pandemic and all the ramifications of that,” he said. “We still need help, and that the community still needs help. Nothing is over, we’re still in the middle of it. We can use all the support we can get to help people most in need.”

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.