MORGANTOWN – Jesse Vermette was amazed at the accelerated pace.
“This would have taken us months to do,” said Vermette, who is an events coordinator at Christian Help, the altruistic endeavor on Walnut Street that ministers to those in need.
“They got it done in an afternoon.”
Volunteers from the United Way of Monongalia and Preston County’s Day of Caring, he means.
Wednesday was the 34th such day for United Way, which helps human services agencies across its two-county territory.
Rachel Everwine, Savanna Draper and Victoria Nottingham at Day of Caring for United Way.
Brian Curry, right, spray washes life jacket as Ben Miley, left, and Clark Creamer help at The Shack Neighbor House for United Way’s Day of Caring.
Brian Curry, right, spray washes life jacket as Ben Miley, left, and Clark Creamer help at The Shack Neighbor House for United Way’s Day of Caring.
Karley Lemley and Makayla Reckart remove weeds in front of The Shack during United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties’ Day of Caring on Wednesday.
Kayla Traver cleans out weeds for new flowers at The Shack on Wednesday during the United Way’s Day of Caring.
Volunteers pose for a photo Wednesday at The Shack during United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties’ Day of Caring.
Taylor Rowe, Katherine Gonsiewski and Tiana Thornton gather sweepers in preparation for the Blue and Gold Mine Sale at Milan Puskar Stadium this weekend during the United Way’s Day of Caring Wednesday.
Cherry Hall sorts through kitchenware Wednesday during the United Way’s Day of Caring in preparation for the Blue and Gold Mine Sale at Milan Puskar Stadium this weekend.
Goods are on display Wednesday in preparation for the Blue and Gold Mine Sale at Milan Puskar Stadium this weekend.
United Way employees and volunteers gather for a group photo on the kickoff for Day of Caring Wednesday at Burke & Herbert Bank.
Close to 300 volunteers fanned out across those two counties for the day, helping those agencies with everything from landscaping to fashioning their social media accounts.
Ten of them popped in at Christian Help, to take on a deep-cleaning of the building’s four stories, Vermette said.
Each one occupies a branch of Christian Help’s mission, he said, from a food pantry to a clothes closet for people needing an appropriate outfit for a job interview.
Call those volunteers a big help – for Christian Help, Vermette said.
“They dug in and worked hard,” he said.
Christian Help, meanwhile, began its altruistic life in Morgantown in 1975, the same year West Virginia University’s famed Personal Rapid Transit System began shuttling students from the downtown campus to the Evansdale campus.
The United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties is in the people-moving business, too, Vermette said.
“The United Way is always there for us,” he said. “And we appreciate it.”
