Westmoreland food bank, other agencies benefit from United Way’s ‘Week of Caring’

Far more than 400 volunteers invested time operating on additional than 40 tasks all through the five counties — including Westmoreland — served by the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania in the course of its next once-a-year 7 days of Caring.

“Participation is down a small this 12 months due to the fact some of our associate providers are not letting their workforce to do volunteer function proper now,” explained Margie Solochier, United Way’s regional finance manager.

On Thursday early morning, Solochier was at the Westmoreland County Food stuff Bank alongside with about 20 volunteers from Scottdale electricity company Penn Line and global pharmaceutical organization Bayer to repaint an out-developing at the Devonshire Push assets in Salem.

“We’re allotted 16 hours per 12 months wherever we can go and do volunteer function,” explained Bayer personnel Prosperous Seman. “It’s definitely wonderful.”

Dave Lynn, a volunteer with Penn Line, mentioned the enterprise has finished volunteer operate directly with the food bank in previous decades, but this is the initially they’ve connected with the United Way.

The food financial institution values its partnership with the United Way, said Gina Colosimo, director of volunteerism and food items drives.

“Our outreach and enlargement method started off with funding support from the United Way,” Colosimo explained. “And when I started out in this article, my posture was funded through a United Way grant.”

In addition to the 7 days of Caring volunteers, Murrysville Boy Scout Thomas Hieber also was at the foods bank on Thursday, operating together with his parents, Robert and Amy, to repaint the meals lender building’s basis as his Eagle Scout venture for Troop 208.

“Earlier this summertime, we also prolonged some of the landscaping at the entrance of the setting up,” Hieber explained.

7 days of Caring volunteers in Westmoreland County also carried out weeding, mulching and other servicing at the Clelian Heights university in Hempfield, assisted with a slide thoroughly clean-up at the Motion for Humane Animal Modern society in Latrobe, structured supplies at the nonprofit Rewind-Reuse Center in Export and cleaned up a a short while ago obtained farmhouse at the Westmoreland Land Trust’s Schwarz Farm in Hempfield. In general, volunteers took element in 20 tasks across the county.

Colosimo explained the United Way’s aid has been superb.

“They had been right here for us not just all through the pandemic, but all the time,” she claimed.