Day of Caring

Day of Caring PROJECT SELECTION HAS NOW CLOSED.

For the safety of our nonprofit agencies and volunteers we have elected to cancel the Day of Caring Breakfast. We will host a virtual Day of Caring Kickoff and will allow our nonprofit agencies and volunteers to determine IF/WHEN their projects can be completed.

if you have questions please contact rachael walsh: [email protected]

Day of Caring update

Thank you for your support of Day of Caring! These are unprecedented times for our community, state, nation, and world. Each day we are waking up to new challenges most of us never thought possible. United Way of the Ozarks (UWO) has taken the community pledge to help our community through this! We have quickly responded to the needs of our community and have acted through the following measures:

Early on, UWO gathered partner agencies to collaborate and convene through these challenging times. We have continued to virtually meet weekly to provide support and solutions to our partners.
The Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO), Community Partnership of the Ozarks (CPO), and (UWO) are working together to convene nonprofit agency partners and coordinate the nonprofit community’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Springfield and Greene County. We have recently been dubbed “Philanthropy Row” and collectively represent more than 200 nonprofit agency partners. We are continuously surveying the needs of our nonprofit agency partners and have published a list of immediate needs, including funding, supplies, and volunteer services.
At the request of the City of Springfield and Greene County officials, we worked with CPO and CFO to create the “Have Faith” Initiative. This group is being co-chaired by Rev. Mark Struckhoff and Rev. Bob Roberts. The initiative will engage the faith community to help address some of our community’s most critical needs.
UWO has created a Coronavirus Response Fund that delivers vital funding to our partner nonprofits during this time of crisis. 100% of these donations stay local and support UWO’s partners’ immediate needs like shelter, food, physical and mental healthcare, and operational expenses. (Maybe use the word “squeezed.”
UWO held its first ever Virtual Annual Meeting and released our digital Annual Report. It was not the same thanking our supporters virtually, but through our pledge we vowed to keep our community safe.

Day of Caring is rapidly approaching on June 11^th. As the community begins to recover, there is still a large amount of uncertainty for where we will be in June. For the safety of our nonprofit agencies and volunteers we have elected to cancel the Day of Caring Breakfast. We will host a virtual Day of Caring Kickoff and will allow our nonprofit agencies and volunteers to determine IF/WHEN their projects can be completed. While we do not make this decision lightly, there are multiple factors that we considered, including: anxiety of large group gatherings in June, nonprofits not having funds available to support projects, time off not being available for volunteers, and strain on restaurant vendors to support the Day of Caring breakfast.

Day of Caring FAQ:

Volunteers That Have Selected Projects:

Please keep in mind that many nonprofit agencies are struggling and have faced many challenges through the COVID-19 outbreak. They may not have the funds or resources available to complete their project or may need to move back the date your project is completed. If you can no longer complete your project, but would like to still volunteer, check www.uwozarks.org/doc-events for more volunteer opportunities.

How do I find out if my project site is still in need of volunteers on June 11?

When you first signed up for a project, you received an email from the agency’s project coordinator. Feel free to reach out to them to see if their project is still viable and if it will occur on June 11. If you are having trouble finding this information please reach out to [email protected] to receive the information for your project site.

Many of my volunteers have had to use PTO throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. They are no longer able to volunteer for Day of Caring. What should I do?

Please notify the non-profit that you have signed up to volunteer with. Let the organization know that you will not have enough volunteers to complete the project. If you would like to continue the project with a limited number of volunteers or need to be removed from the project please also contact [email protected] so that volunteer spots can be opened for the project site.

My volunteer group still plans to volunteer, do we still need to submit our waivers?

Yes, you must submit your volunteer waivers to participate in Day of Caring. Please submit all volunteer waivers at: https://www.uwozarks.org/day-of-caring/volunteer-waiver/

Will there still be a breakfast?

There will not be a group breakfast on June 11^th. We will be hosting a virtual kick off for Day of Caring on June 11^th. (Follow us on; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @uwozarks). Please make plans to listen that morning before heading out to your project. If you aren’t participating in a project you are still welcome to join us for the virtual kick-off event.

Will we receive Day of Caring T-Shirts?

Sadly no, we have reallocated that funding to the Coronavirus Response Fund to help partner agencies with critical needs. As much as we love a great Live United shirt, the vendor we use was considered non-essential.

If you have a Day of Caring T-Shirt from previous years, join us in celebrating our 28^th year by wearing your “throwback” t-shirt for this year’s Day of Caring.

What more can we do to help nonprofits in our community?

Visit www.uwozarks.org/covid19 to view the list of immediate needs. This list of needs includes funding, supplies, and volunteer opportunities. If you can fill a need, please contact the agency directly.

Join the #LiveUnited Challenge and make a donation to the Coronavirus Response Fund by texting SGFresponds to 41444 or visit www.uwozarks.org/covid19

Additional Questions?

Contact Rachael Walsh at [email protected]

Nonprofit Agencies That Have Submitted Projects:

Where do I find the contact information for my volunteer lead?

When your project was selected, the contact for your project should have received an email with the name of your volunteer lead and the number of volunteer spots that were confirmed. Check your spam or junk folder for the email. If you did not receive an email, please contact [email protected] for your volunteer lead’s information.

My agency is not able to complete the project(s) we submitted but have already had volunteers sign up. What should we do?

Please notify the volunteer lead that selected your project. Let the volunteer lead know that your project is no longer available. If your volunteers are interested in completing a project for another agency, please direct them to available projects at www.uwozarks.org/doc-events. In addition, notify [email protected] to remove your project from the project list.

My agency would still like to have our project completed; however, we will not be ready by June. Can we change the date that our project is completed?

Yes, please communicate with your volunteer lead. Work with your volunteer group to determine if they are available on a later date. If your volunteer group is not available, but you would still like the project completed, please contact [email protected] to have the project reopened to new volunteers.

Can we submit new projects?

We will not be accepting new projects for volunteers. If your volunteer group in not available to complete the project you previously submitted, we will open the project for new volunteers online.

Your agency just heard from your volunteers that they are not available to help any longer?

Please notify Rachael at [email protected] and she will re-open your project on the Day of Caring Website.

Additional Questions?

Contact Rachael Walsh at [email protected]

Project selection has now closed

PROJECT SUBMISSION

Volunteer Waiver

Special Thanks To Our Sponsors!