United Way organizes local volunteers

While many in Bloomington volunteer their time, energy and money year-round, the United Way of Monroe County has called out a whole community for its 14th annual Day of Action today.

More than 130 volunteers will go to work at 15 local nonprofit agencies, said Jennifer Hottell, communications director for United Way of Monroe County.

While the Day of Action is a national event for United Way, Hottell said each local chapter chooses the day of the year on which it is held in that area; so while it might be April 8 this year for Bloomington, the Metropolitan Chicago branch had its day on June 20 last year, according to the Web site.

The overall mission of the United Way is to address the current needs of people in communities across the United States and to lessen the needs for the future, Hottell said.

The Rise, Middle Way House’s transitional housing facility for women who have been victimized by domestic violence and their children, will benefit as well, said Mandi Priest-Redden., the program’s childcare coordinator. Priest-Redden estimated five volunteers will come to work at The Rise.

“If everybody were to pitch a few days a year, or even one day a year, things would get progressively better,” Priest-Redden said. “I hope we find someone who has a passion for what we do here.”

Besides individuals, Hottell said many of their volunteers are students, staff and clients from Monroe Bank, TSI/Mentor, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Target and the IU Office of Service-Learning.

Nicole Schönemann, director of the Office of Service-Learning, said its staff will participate in the Day of Action as a natural extension of what they already do.

“Our office connects the community and the University academically,” she said, describing classes based in “experiential education,” like a social work course that focuses on poverty in which the students work at Shalom Community Center.

By working on the Day of Action, Schönemann said her office can better understand the community and its needs.

But she does not consider the students’ work to be volunteerism; rather, it is part of the learning process to combine the practical applications with theory.

“I believe all service is educational,” Schönemann said. “That interaction with the real world is very significant to learning. It’s meeting a genuine community need.”

Hottell said she expects many familiar faces.

“We find that the volunteers are very excited to come back year after year,” she said.

Priest-Redden said she hopes the Day of Action will help spread positivity, empathy and acceptance in the community because no one can know a stranger’s experiences that led them to their current situation.

“If we can step outside of our universes, our own little mini-universes, we can see that there’s so much more going on in our community than just what’s just in our little bubble,” she said. “We have to take the Day of Action into our hearts.”