Hundreds of volunteers dedicated their time to help better the Gainesville community at the annual United Way Day of Action on Wednesday.
The event, which lasted from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., sent volunteers all over Gainesville to more than 20 project locations, including day care centers, St. Francis House and the Boys & Girls Club.
Volunteers helped clean up the designated locations by organizing, planting, landscaping and painting.
Five projects focused on fixing up day care centers.
One such place, Little Bees Place for Kids, 60 to 70 volunteers helped paint everything from tables to new playground equipment.
"The five day cares were selected by the United Way in terms of need," said Roberta Elkins, CFO for the United Way of North Central Florida. "The volunteers that helped out here really made a difference in fixing up this center and the Gainesville community."
With a full day's work starting at 8 a.m., volunteers and project coordinators worked together to transform Little Bees Place for Kids into a renovated day care and playground area.
Nationwide Insurance, Publix and Gainesville Regional Utility were three of the 20 to 25 companies that recruited volunteers to help out in the event.
Katie Hunt, a United Way volunteer and Nationwide Insurance employee, was one of many who dedicated her time to help make the event a reality.
"The focus was to clean up the day care and provide the kids with new, fresh equipment to play on," Hunt said. "We were focusing on early education and giving back to the community."
Besides donating time, companies donated materials and supplies to help make a difference.
"GRU brought lights and light bulbs to replace old ones and also weatherized the building, which helps keep the electric bill down. Nationwide supplied materials, and Lowe's donated paint," Elkins said.
Barbara Walker, director of Little Bees Place for Kids, described all the help and donations as a blessing.
"I'll be excited to see their reaction when they get back," Walker said. "They knew something was going on, but they didn't know what."
