United Way of Summit County today announced that in 2018, for the second year in a row, participation in its volunteer events surged over the previous year. In 2018, 3,829 volunteers took part in United Way engagement events – a 21 percent increase over 2017. With their help, United Way collected and distributed 474,248 supplies – from children’s books and school supplies to healthy snacks – to students and their families across Summit County. A total of 15,672 students were served by United Way volunteers last year.
This was made possible with the help of local businesses, which provided volunteers, sponsored events, hosted their own on-site sort-a-thons and more. United Way works closely with local businesses to advance their corporate social responsibility agendas and facilitate employee volunteerism. Research shows that companies that provide volunteer opportunities to their employees enjoy higher employee satisfaction and retention. In 2018, 403 companies participated in United Way volunteer opportunities.
“I’m not at all surprised that we’ve seen such growing support for our events,” said Jim Mullen, president and CEO of United Way of Summit County. “This community is full of people – from the street corner to the corner office – who are proud of their home and want to see it improve. The passion was always there. What we did was to create a way for people to channel it into action. As we continue to get the word out, I expect we’ll keep seeing more and more people showing up to lend a hand.”
To learn more about United Way volunteer events and year-round volunteer opportunities, check out its 2019 Engagement Calendar at uwsummit.org/volunteer.