United Way Day of Caring again successful

VW independent/submitted information

The United Way of Van Wert County held its 21st annual Day of Caring event on Friday, which helps replenish food and blood supplies within the community. 

After a record-setting 2018 event, expectations were set high for 2019 and the event did not disappoint. As always, when there is a need in Van Wert County, local businesses and residents step up to the plate to give, volunteer, and advocate.

The food drive collected over 49,933 items and this year was a record-breaking year again, while the blood drive collected 176 units to replenish local blood bank counts.

“This year’s Day of Caring was a great success in many ways,” said United Way Executive Director Vicki Smith. “We had shared with Van Wert County residents the most needed items and our community responded with a record number of those items collected. 

“You cannot imagine the number of people that go into the execution of this event,” Smith added. “If you have never been a part of it, you need to get involved next year. This is truly a community event and we couldn’t do it without everyone helping with donations, volunteering, providing equipment and sponsors.” 

“Thank you to everyone that helped make this year’s Day of Caring event a huge success,” said 2019 Day of Caring Chair Karen Lautzenheiser. “This year, we were able to include all three local food pantries: The Salvation Army, Trinity Friends, and Van Wert County Cooperative Ministries. We focused on the most needed items for those pantries again this year and had a record number of items collected.”

New to this year’s event was the “Stuff The Truck” Challenge between the Van Wert Fire Department and Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office. A total of 1,818 Items were collected by the fire department and 2,639 items were collected by the sheriff’s office. An additional $673.21 in cash donations was also collected, which will be put on an account at West Ohio Food Bank and allow the three food pantries to purchase food at a discounted rate when needed.

To help set new records in 2019, the United Way Day of Caring Committee connected with many area businesses, organizations, and citizens to get more people involved. The local schools held food drive events and challenges between classrooms and other county schools, raising thousands of food items for the Day of Caring event. Many thanks to Vantage Career Center for the use of its facility and to the staff and students for all their work helping sort the food drive items.

Planning for next year’s 2020 United Way Day of Caring is underway. To find out how area residents can impact the community, call the United Way of Van Wert County at 419.238.6689, email director@uwvwco.org, or visit www.unitedwayvanwert.org.