Day of Caring: Biggest in nation

My heart is bursting with pride for this amazing community, which completed the nation's largest Day of Caring on Sept. 11, with 5,500 people painting, cleaning, landscaping, building, sorting, filing, reading to children and refurbishing a whole neighborhood in those "Live United" shirts.

You read that right. The largest Day of Caring in the nation is not in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago. It's not in Atlanta or Charlotte or Memphis. Little old Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties in South Carolina have the largest Day of Caring in the nation.

That's because in the Lowcountry, we have the biggest and most caring hearts. And for that I say from the bottom of my own heart, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you to the 261 companies, service organizations, non-profit agencies and schools that participated. Thank you to Lowe's Home Improvement for the paint, mulch and other supplies. Thank you to the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command for giving 2,000 sailors the day off to volunteer. Thank you most of all to our Trident United Way, the folks who make it all possible.

What a magical day it was. The thousands of people who volunteered to complete 280 projects at area charities and schools contributed $1 million of labor and supplies in just one day. My family believes deeply in the Jewish tradition of "Tikkun Olam," or repairing the world. On Sept. 11, we showed the rest of the country what "Tikkun Olam" means.

Here are two examples from the Day of Caring: About 100 volunteers from six different companies pooled their resources to spruce up Windwood Farm for Children in Awendaw. Their efforts are making life a little nicer for the severely troubled children who live there. Executive Director Debbie McKelvey says: "Day of Caring is remarkable. It has changed our culture."

Trident Literacy has never looked so good following its special Day of Caring. Volunteers from Alcoa, MUSC, the Coast Guard and others overhauled its offices inside and out, using paint and landscaping materials donated by several local companies. Trident Literacy could never have accomplished any of the day's activities on its own. "Wow," said Trident Lit's Cheryl Moniz, "We were really fortunate to have so many generous people helping us this year."

Of course, there's more caring to be done, more people in need — more than ever, in fact. If you want to show how much you care, visit www.tuw.org or dial 2-1-1 to find volunteer opportunities that work best for you.

ANITA ZUCKER

The InterTech Group

Day of Caring Chairperson

Trident United Way

North Charleston

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