SitemapA sea of volunteers clad in neon-yellow shirts gathered alongside a pair of trucks emblazoned with the word “REVITALIZE.”
They listened as a man with a megaphone called out orders from atop one of the vehicles. When he finished, the volunteers left the area in an improvised convoy, the East Side their destination. The volunteers – approximately 850 – were the workforce behind the United Way’s 20th annual Day of Caring on Friday. Day of Caring – which Youngstown has participated in for the past five years – is the kickoff event to the United Way’s major fundraising campaign, which runs between September and December. This year, the volunteers – organized by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. and the Mahoning County chapter of the American Red Cross – were conducting blight cleanup work and beautification on the East Side near the Royal Oaks tavern. Also planned for the day was the construction of a 16-foot-wide sign reading “Welcome to the East Side” at the corner of Oak Street and Garland Avenue. Volunteers with hedge clippers trimmed branches along Oak Street while others dug weeds out of cracks along the thoroughfare’s sidewalk. The superintendent, principal and associate principal of Boardman and its high school – Timothy Saxton, Cindy Fernback and David Kornbau, respectively – volunteered for the event with 30 high school students in tow. “This isn’t a day off for these kids,” Saxton said. “These guys were up at 7 a.m. this morning on what could have been their first vacation day of the school year, so I think it says a lot about the character of these students.” Volunteers with the Red Cross were installing fire alarms in homes and passing out fire-safety tips to homeowners in the area. Joe Corpa and a number of his co-workers at the Rich Center for Autism were among the volunteers with the Red Cross. To read the full story from the Vindicator, click here.