Day of Action
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STORY BY BRITTANY SMITH & PHOTOS COURTESY OF LAKE MARTIN AREA UNITED WAY
ay of Action: A day when the community joins forces to get things done through highly visible and coordinated action that draws awareness and requires accountability. United Way Worldwide began Day of Action as a way to get the community to harness the volunteer spirit and improve the communities in which they live. UWW hosts Day of Action on summer solstice or June 21 every year. As the longest day of summer, more actions can be completed on this day. But not all United Ways choose summer solstice as their day of action. Lake Martin Area United Way usually hosts Day of Action the Thursday just before June 21 due to convenience for volunteers. But this year, even that was different. “Because of summer school, we held our Day of Action on the Friday morning of June 18, and we had a group on the Saturday before, too, which has never happened,” said Lake Martin Area United Way Executive Director Sharon Fuller. “Typically, we have worked at the schools, but this year we had some projects that were not typical. We helped a 84-year-old lady who needed a ramp and built that for her. We also did yard work, mowing and trimming bushes, for a 96-year-old veteran, as well as cleaning Main Street and the
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surrounding area here in Alexander City.” Aside from the aforementioned projects, the community uses Day of Action as an opportunity to get down and dirty. They participate in projects that require painting, building, digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, pressure washing, blowing off parking lots and sidewalks and so much more. “The people in our community would rather get outside and get hot and sweaty pulling weeds than go sit in a cool room and read books to children. So we take advantage of that every chance we get,” Fuller said. “The schools love it and appreciate the help,” said Courtney Layfield, marketing and community initiatives director at Lake Martin Area United Way. “They have limited resources, and if we can off-set those expenses by getting volunteers to paint something, build something or pull weeds, then that can be very helpful for them.” “I believe we’ve painted in every school, other than Edward Bell, in Tallapoosa and Coosa County,” said Fuller. “Edward Bell is on our radar.” But painting and pulling weeds are not the only types of volunteer action LMAUW has going on for Day of Action, they also offer kid-friendly cleaning opportunities as well. “We had 96 volunteers this year,” Fuller said. “Teachers,
