United Way of Greater Kingsport 2019 Week of Caring

KINGSPORT – The 27th Annual Regional United Way Week of Caring in the Tri-Cities region is in full swing, spanning from June 17 – 21, 2019. In Kingsport alone, over 1,000 volunteers completed 133 projects throughout the region for 26 nonprofits. The financial impact of this year’s Week of Caring is estimated at nearly $150,000 for a cumulative 6,000 hours of work.

The collaborative volunteer project week kicked off on June 17th, with a region wide breakfast hosted and sponsored by Bank of Tennessee. The meeting, attended by regional local United Ways (United Way of Bristol, United Way of Washington County TN, United Way of Elizabethton/Carter County and United Way of Greater Kingsport) and volunteers, was held for encouragement purposes so each agency could begin the Week of Caring on a positive note and encourage United Ways to remember their mission to serve.

“Week of Caring is an opportunity for companies to go out and spend a day volunteering and making a visible difference in the community,” said Becca Sutphen, UWGK Community Impact Director. “These projects mean so much to our agencies each year and it is so rewarding to witness the volunteerism in our region band together to improve lives! United Way of Greater Kingsport and our member agencies are grateful for the volunteerism exemplified in Greater Kingsport.”  

The remainder of the week was filled with over 100 service projects involving more than 1,000 volunteers. Local companies and organizations (AEP, Ballad Health, Brock, Brown Edwards, City of Kingsport, Domtar, Eastman, Eastman Credit Union, First Tennessee Bank, Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, Luttrell Staffing and more) provided maintenance services, landscaping, painting, and several other projects.

Examples of projects include: a Domtar team working to repair a storage building floor at CASA for Kids Inc., AEP Appalachian Power employees getting their hands dirty landscaping at Holston Counseling, Brown Edwards volunteers spring cleaning at Literacy Council, City of Kingsport painting and weeding at Small Miracles Therapeutic Equestrian Center, Brock performing a spring cleaning at Hope House, First Tennessee Bank assisting with a storage clean out, Luttrell Staffing moving and organizing storage units at Sullivan County Imagination Library, Eastman Credit Union and Kingsport Chamber teams cleaning and organizing space at Habitat Restore and Hope Haven. These are just a few of the many different projects that took place throughout the week.

Eastman Chemical Company employees, this year’s largest project team, took on multiple projects at nearly 20 agencies throughout the Week of Caring. One of the projects they tackled was at Girls Inc. which included general landscaping maintenance, cleaning of gutters and windows, installation of a surveillance system, interior cleaning, the construction of a new playhouse for the girls in their playground, and much more. Although the day began in the rain, this team of volunteers did not hesitate to get started. Weather conditions aside, this Week of Caring project was able to make an impact that will be felt at Girls Inc. for many years to come.

United Way of Greater Kingsport Board President, Brian Miller, said, “I want to give a special thank you to all of our volunteers for their work throughout this week’s projects. Every year our Week of Caring shows how dedicated our community is to giving back and this year is no different. It was an amazing experience for me to be able to visit multiple agencies throughout the week and see the difference that was being made. I truly appreciate each and every volunteer that was a part of this year’s Week of Caring.”

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United Way of Greater Kingsport (UWGK) fights for the education, health, and financial stability of every person in our community. UWGK’s mission is to improve lives. Our vision is a better life for all.