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This year’s financial campaign goal is $2.9 million.
This year’s financial campaign goal is $2.9 million.
YOUNGSTOWN — “It’s friends and neighbors helping friends and neighbors,” Walter “Buzz” Pishkur said of the Youngstown-Mahoning Valley United Way’s annual Day of Caring.
The Day of Caring, which this year fell on Sept. 11, the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, is an event in which teams of volunteers from businesses and other organizations perform tasks for United Way-affiliated agencies.
The event also kicks off the local United Way’s 2008 financial campaign. This year’s goal is $2.9 million, $352,547 of which already has been raised by the early Pacesetter campaigns and advance gifts.
“We all recall seven years ago how after the attacks we came together and how people acted selflessly to help out,” said Pishkur, chairman of the financial campaign and president of Aqua Ohio.
Helping each other also is the essence of the United Way campaign, he said.
“What you do today and during the campaign will have a major impact on our community,” Pishkur told the 450 volunteers who gathered Wednesday for the United Way “Breakfast of Champions” at Our Lady of Mount Carmel banquet hall before heading out to their various tasks.
Teams from 53 local organizations completed service projects at 42 locations throughout the community, ranging from painting, cleaning and landscaping to arts and crafts at senior centers to breaking down butter into one-pound blocks at the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley.
In addition to helping individuals and organizations on the Day of Caring, UW volunteers also learn about some of the agencies for which they are raising money and say they get a sense of satisfaction from helping.
“I get more out of this than I give,” said Linda Sentgeorge, who along with Bonnie Rappach, taught English to adults at Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana. Sentgeorge, of Wampum, Pa., and Rappach, of Hubbard, are Butler-Wick employees.
OCCHA, Youngstown’s primary social service agency for Hispanics, offers “English-as-a-Second Language” classes as part of its educational services. United Way helps support those and other classes in social services/family support and employment, said Mary Isa Garayua, OCCHA executive director and chief executive officer.
Volunteers from Nationwide Insurance and Farmers National Bank helped preschoolers from the Potential Development program enjoy meeting horses and cats and getting a hayride at Zedaker AnJon Acres horse farm in Poland Township. AnJon is a combination of the owners’ names, John and Ann Zedaker.
John Zedaker, chairman of the Potential Board of Directors, said the main business of the 11-acre farm, which has 26 horses, including those belonging to the family and boarders, is giving riding lessons.
There were a lot of squeals of delight and a few tears of dismay from the children when meeting and feeding the clumps of grass, hay and carrots to the big animals.
“Seeing the animals puts a smile on their faces. It’s fun to see how much fun they have,” said Nationwide employee Kim Bean of Salem, who has been a Day of Caring volunteer for six years.
Randy Colian of Farmers National Bank, a first-time Day of Caring volunteer, described his experience as a “good time being with the kids. It is nice to be around them and help them,” said the Salem resident.
“We appreciate all of you, and I’m sure the people you impact today and during the campaign will be appreciative, too,” said Bob Hannon, new president and chief professional officer of the Youngstown-Mahoning Valley United Way.
Pishkur said he had been concerned about the challenges of meeting the $2.9 million goal because of the troubled economy.
But, he said, his campaign cabinet unanimously agreed to not lower goals. That reflects the character of the community, he added.
alcorn@vindy.com