The Day of Caring, co-ordinated by the Estevan and District United Way committee, proved to be a well-organized and successful day-long adventure in helping others.
Gwen Densley, a member of a five-person ad hoc committee that organized the clean-up and spruce-up activities at local public venues and a few private residences, said that half-way through the event, things had gone well.
Densley talked with The Mercury during a noon-hour luncheon break hosted by the Estevan Diversified Services employees and staff.
"We had about 100 volunteers and 17 sites, or projects to look after," Densley said.
The Day of Caring, which was designated as being May 19, was a good one in terms of weather conditions and volunteer turnout.
"Some people did a lot of ladder climbing, painting, clean-up work," said Courtney Cossette, another member of the organizational committee that also included Maxine Hedin, Janet Gabriel and Roberta Derosier.
Individuals or public service groups that felt they could benefit from a little attention by a gang of helpful volunteers were encouraged to apply for assistance and then they had to be selected for assistance since there were more applications than there was time in the day to get all the work done.
One large volunteer crew found their way to Creighton Lodge, a local seniors' complex, where they did a number of fix-up and clean-up jobs and then enjoyed a coffee break with some of the residents there.
Densley and Cossette said that the Day of Caring is an annual event for UW.
A number of UW committee members were involved in the day's activities, some being able to give a few hours while others arranged to be available the entire day. A number of local businesses also gave employees some time off to be involved in the community improvement action plan.
