Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s Give a Day Week of Service kicks off Saturday, April 12, and it is so easy to be involved.
The service week is held annually to help launch the Kentucky Derby Festival. Last year, around 110,000 residents participated and the Mayor’s office would like to see that number rise to 120,000 for 2014. Mayor Fischer says the scheduling of the activities helps put them in a global spotlight at the time of the Kentucky Derby, and Mike Berry, president and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Festival, said “Putting on our nearly 70 events every year would not be possible without some 4,000 volunteers. We know well the importance of volunteerism and it makes Give A Day week the perfect fit for our official schedule.”
Give a Day is simply a call for Louisville folks to make a difference by volunteering for a project; donating time, money or effort; or creating a new service project to benefit others.
Don’t know where to start? You can peruse mygiveaday.com to see all of the service projects others have listed and sign up there to participate. You can also list your project on the site and invite others to help.
Here are just a few examples of projects that you can take part in:
Give
Donate small backpacks for students in need to Blessings in a Backpack (drop off at any public or private golf course)
Give shoes to WaterStep to help support clean drinking water projects
Donate money to Brightside to help plant trees
Build
Volunteers are building beds for JCPS students who do not have anything but the floor to sleep on in their homes
Three vacant homes are being renovated and will provide housing for needy families who are also working on the renovations
Clean Up
Help the Thomas Edison House spruce up the house and grounds before Thunder over Louisville
Help the Boys and Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana with outdoor planting and beautification efforts
Interact
Help a non-native English speaker practice conversation by joining the LFPL Bon Air Library’s English Conversation Club
Help serve breakfast at the Wayside Christian Mission’s Hotel Louisville
The week actually goes on through April 20, so you have time to get involved, no matter how small you might feel your contribution to be. Every bit helps and the satisfaction that comes only from giving generously of yourself is like no other.
Photo: Shutterstock Copyright: LeventeGyori
