For the past 22 years, United Way of Northwest Georgia has celebrated Make a Difference Day on the fourth Friday and Saturday in October. United Way hosted volunteer projects the week of October 17 - 22. Phenix Flooring and Marketing Alliance Group are this year’s Make a Difference Day Premier Sponsors. Phenix Flooring and Marketing Alliance Group both gave $5,000 in grant funding to help make this year’s Make a Difference Day outstanding! This year we also had nine additional community project sponsors: Dalton Utilities, Engineered Floors, Huali Floors, Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries and United Way of Northwest Georgia’s Together Unidos, Women’s Leadership Council, Young Leaders Society, and Youth United. 11 volunteer projects were held through the Power of Community in Whitfield and Murray counties.
“United Way of Northwest Georgia is honored to participate in Make a Difference Day each year. At United Way, we know how impactful our Make a Difference Day projects are within our local community. In addition, the Phenix Flooring and Marketing Alliance Group’s sponsorship has ensured that countless lives will be improved through these volunteer projects. To Live Better we must all Live United because that’s The Power of Community.” United Way President, Amanda Burt.
One of our Premier Sponsors, Marketing Alliance Group, sponsored a volunteer project to install a Born Learning Trail at Joan Lewis Park. Special thank you to Dalton Parks & Recreation Department for installing the posts for our Born Learning Trail. The Born Learning Trail consists of activities to promote early learning and advocate for family health. The Born Learning Trail is a series of 10 interactive signs that offer fun, active learning activities for young children and their families. Signs are available in English and Spanish and feature different activities that engage early childhood developmental skills. Activities along this trail work alongside United Way’s strategic guideline of getting kids ready for kindergarten, reading at grade level by 3rd grade, and graduating on time with skills to be career and life-ready. These trails will help parents, caregivers and members of our community create quality engagement opportunities when out on a stroll or visiting a local playground. Go check out the new Born Learning Trail at Joan Lewis Park, and turn everyday moments into learning moments!
Other projects completed for United Way of Northwest Georgia's Make A Difference Day include:
Dalton Utilities sponsored a volunteer project at United Way Community Partner, Looper Speech and Hearing Center. Volunteers helped create a new picnic and patio area for patients and visitors. The picnic tables were located behind their building, where they are seldom used. Volunteers moved them to the front of the building and built a patio area. The community will benefit from an outdoor picnic area that they can use while waiting for friends/family members during their appointments. Looper Speech and Hearing Center serves a wide range of speech and hearing needs of patients from infants through seniors.
Engineered Floors volunteered at United Way Community Partner, Meals on Wheels in Whitfield County with United Way’s Young Leaders Society. Engineered Floors volunteers removed the old carpet from the Meals on Wheels office and replaced it with new carpet tiles generously donated by Engineered Floors. The Young Leaders Society volunteers pressure-washed the entire building, painted the front porch, front door, and the building’s trim. The painting project will make the front of the building more inviting to the Meals on Wheels volunteers and their staff. New flooring in their office will make it more pleasant, as the carpet they had was flooded by an ice machine that developed a leak.
Huali Floors volunteered at United Way Community Partner, Murray County 4-H. Volunteers demoed a deck that was a safety hazard and unusable. With United Way funding, Murray County 4-H is getting a larger concrete pad, picnic tables for outdoor classrooms, and a grill so that they will be able to cook for the 4-H’ers during their monthly County Council meetings as well as other Extension and 4-H activities!
Mohawk Industries sponsored a volunteer project at United Way Community Partner, Salvation Army in Dalton. Volunteers rebuilt and expanded the communal picnic area for onsite Transitional Housing Units, installed new picnic tables and grills, and cleaned up the onsite Community Garden. The Transitional Housing program provides stable housing and an opportunity for many families to overcome generational barriers. Adding this addition to the units will allow the families to have an outdoor area to gather, bond, grow their own produce, and for The Salvation Army to have a space in which they hold activities for the families. Many of the families are coming into the program from very serious hardships, homelessness, abuse, and numerous other traumas. The addition of this will improve the ability of the families to bond and engage in a positive way. These updates will allow countless families the opportunity to enjoy this area.
Shaw Industries sponsored a Make a Difference Day Project with United Way Community Partner, Boys and Girls Club. The Boys and Girls Club Carl Rollins Unit is installing a basketball and a sand volleyball court in the field space near the dugouts. Volunteers cleared the bike trail, replaced and stained chairs for the teen center, and removed fencing to prepare for the awning installation. The awnings will provide shade and shelter while youth play on the courts during the summer and throughout the year. This new and improved outdoor space will serve The Boys and Girls Club kids for years to come. This project will encourage youth to learn new skills and try new sports. This Make a Difference Day project will make a difference in the lives of young people, their families, and our community!
The United Way’s Together Unidos group bought bilingual books and volunteers replenished the Little Free Library at Joan Lewis Park. The Together Unidos group will continue working on the revitalization of Joan Lewis Park through special projects. Joan Lewis Park is a 2.5-acre neighborhood park. The park currently features a bandstand, a youth artificial turf soccer field, picnic shelters, two playgrounds, and outdoor basketball courts.
The United Way Women’s Leadership Council volunteers worked on a Little Free Library refresh project. The ladies cleaned and repaired doorknobs from vandalism and they collected children’s books to restock the Little Free Libraries. The purpose of these libraries is to provide a place where all readers in the community can share books throughout the year. Participants can leave books to share with others in the box and take a book they would like to read. You can find all our Little Free Libraries by visiting United Way’s website, www.ourunitedway.org/little-free-libraries.
This year was also the 28th annual event of the Conasauga River Watershed Clean-Up. Youth United volunteers rolled up their sleeves and cleaned up trash from the river and banks at the Conasauga River at Lakeshore Park location. Other volunteers cleaned up trash from the following seven locations: Conasauga River at Carlton Petty Road Bridge, Conasauga River at Highway 2 Bridge, Conasauga River at Lower King’s Bridge/Norton Bridge, Holly Creek, Murray County, on the Chattahoochee National Forest, Mill Creek tributary in the City of Dalton, Crown Creek in the City of Dalton, and Conasauga River Snorkeling Hole, TN.
The Dalton High School JROTC students volunteered at United Way Community Partner, Carter Hope Center. Mohawk Industries generously donated vinyl flooring for Carter Hope Center’s new trauma group room, a bedroom, and kitchen floor in one of our female houses. The JROTC volunteers installed the flooring. This project will help maintain the Women’s House and the new trauma treatment program. Carter Hope Center provides a structured and safe living environment to those individuals that need a long-term residential program that encourages spiritual, physical, and emotional recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.
United Way works year-round to fight for the education, basic needs, and health of every person in our local community. To Live Better we must all Live United because that’s the Power of Community! Visit ourunitedway.org for more information on how to get involved