UNITED WAY DAY OF CARING® IS A COMMUNITY SERVICE

For Immediate Release

October 5, 2005

Ajax-Pickering-Uxbridge – United Way of Ajax-Pickering-Uxbridge is having their second annual community-wide Day of Caring® on October 18th. It’s a hands-on initiative that connects volunteers from businesses, corporations, union groups and donors with non-profit organizations in their community to complete various projects for local community agencies that may not otherwise be done without their support.

“We were thrilled with the success and positive feedback from last year’s Day of Caring®,” said Edna Klazek, Executive Director of United Way Ajax-Pickering-Uxbridge. “We hope that this year’s event will encompass the same fun and good spirit that was shown last year.”

Volunteers from local workplaces are given time off by their employers to spend the day working on projects under the supervision of agency staff or volunteers. There are currently thirty-five confirmed projects for Day of Caring ®.

A special mention to Shandex Group, who on August 5, 2005, picked up a donation of 5100 Crest Spinbrush Toothbrushes from Procter & Gamble in Belleville, Ontario. Forty-five hundred of the spinbrushes were used in the United Way affiliated Back to School Supplies Drive and six-hundred were used in agency shelters.

Certified Heating and Air Conditioning completed the first two Day of Caring® projects on September 22nd with fall furnace cleanings and tune-ups. Other projects were completed prior to the actual Day of Caring as well.

The Home Depot concluded their two Day of Caring® projects on September 28th with removing and rebuilding a sandbox with canopy and constructing 4 raised wooden planter boxes to be used for outdoor gardening by clients in wheelchairs.

From October 3rd to 6th an individual will create a wall mural depicting Precious Mind’s mission statement. Two different projects are scheduled for October 17th. Miller Waste Systems will be replacing flooring in a pre-school bathroom and kitchen and ceiling tiles in the facility. Also, RBC Pickering will be cleaning the carpets in a resource centre/ workshop area.

On October 18th participants of Day of Caring® include organizations to do the physical labour such as: Bank of Nova Scotia will complete interior and exterior painting; Bank of Nova Scotia – Uxbridge will improve quality and appearance of 11 child size furniture pieces; Hubbell Canada with decorating of a waiting area and hallway; ING Insurance will sand, varnish, stain and replace veneer on children’s cubbies; MeadWestvaco will paint 4 bedrooms, LR/DR, upstairs bathroom and downstairs entrance way of a group home; OPG will prepare a garden; Pickering Rotary and Region of Durham will paint a lobby, hallways, boardroom and 3 offices; RBC Oshawa and one region employee with a fall clean-up; RBC Pickering and RBC Ajax will deliver food donation bags to nearby houses; Region of Durham will paint interior of a town house; Shandex Group will fix baseboards in office area of an agency; Town of Ajax will paint 3 bedrooms in a group home; Township of Uxbridge will stain a deck and complete a fall clean-up of an agencies grounds and Uxbridge Rotary will do an outdoor grounds clean-up and interior clean-up, repairs and paint touch-ups. The City of Pickering will be building and installing sandboxes.

Companies donating supplies include: Canadian Tire Corporation – Uxbridge; Certified Heating and Air Conditioning; City of Pickering; Durham Region Labour Council; The Home Depot; Millwork Home Centre; MeadWestvaco; Pat’s Rent-All; Pickering Audio Visual; Pittsburg Paint and Glass; Region of Durham; Rona Cashway – Uxbridge; Scugog Equipment Rentals; Town of Ajax; and Topper’s Pizza. Ontario Power Generation is sponsoring a breakfast launch for Day of Caring® in Pickering and Veridian Corporation will sponsor the breakfast in Uxbridge.

The agencies receiving service are Community Care Durham; Community Development Council Durham; Community Living Ajax-Pickering-Whitby; Community Living Durham North; Durham Association for Family Respite; Durham Region Unemployed Help; Family Community Action Program; Girls Incorporated of Durham; Precious Minds; PRYDE Daycares; Salvation Army and Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre for Durham Region.

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 For further information, please contact:

(905) 686-0606