It’s another record-breaking Day of Caring for United Way Hastings & Prince Edward.
The event kicked off at Quinte Mall Thursday morning where volunteers and members of United Way HPE took part in a rally.
A record 345 volunteers are taking part helping to complete 54 projects across Hastings & Prince Edward at 33 different organizations.
“We’ve got teams planting trees in Quinte West. We have teams that are building shelving and painting outdoor spaces and doing some gardening, and sprucing up spaces that are meant for healing, and painting insides of organizations,” Executive Director of United Way HPE Brandi Hodge tells Quinte News.
“The jobs are endless and as unique as the organizations that they’re doing them in.”
Executive Director of United Way Hastings Prince Edward Brandi Hodge kicking off the 2024 Day of Caring at the Quinte Mall. June 20, 2024. (Photo: Zach McGibbon/Quinte News)
Before teams were sent off to their projects, Hodge had volunteers perform an exercise that brings attention to the cost of living.
“Last year, we did an unconscious bias exercise. People loved it. So this year we did a bit of a poverty simulation,” Hodge explained.
“You can only do so much in five minutes, but it’s about giving people an idea of how difficult life is right now for a lot of people, and trying to make sure that they understand who that is that they’re going to be seeing in the organizations that they’re going to work with today and who it is that they’re supporting.”
The exercise has people given 15 credits, an example of a monthly budget, and how to disperse those 15 credits.
“You blow through (the credits) really quickly and you realize what you don’t have funds for,” Hodge said.
“It’s not only the incidentals, it’s also the necessities, right? So sometimes it’s making choices between the utility bill and the rent or rent and food. Families all across our community are making those choices daily.”
Volunteers with the 2024 Day of Caring taking part in an exercise bringing to light the cost of living in the region. June 20, 2024. (Photo: Zach McGibbon/Quinte News)
As for another record number of volunteers taking part in the initiative, Hodge says part of the work that the United Way does is “capacity building and engagement.”
“These are all workplaces that engage with us throughout the campaign season, and they want to see where their dollars are going. They want to see what it is that they’re funding,” Hodge tells Quinte News.
“This is a really great opportunity to do that. They want to give back. They want to get their hands dirty rather than just contributing financially, which is a really important part of what they do, but they also want to dig in a little bit, and this is a great opportunity to do that.”
Hodge says the event is also a great opportunity for team building within the workplaces.
