200Columbus Community Care Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2012
For More Information, Contact:
Kermit Whitfield, 614-227-2726 or kermit.whitfield@uwcentralohio.org
200Columbus Community Care Day sets goal to be the Premiere Volunteering Event of the Bicentennial Year
(COLUMBUS, OH) – United Way of Central Ohio will be teaming up with 200Columbus the Bicentennial throughout 2012 to celebrate the great history of our community, work to make it better today, and plan for a vibrant future. We will also be celebrating the 125th anniversary of the founding of the United Way movement, which has mobilized millions of people around the world to advance the common good.
Over the course of the year, United Way will recognize the importance of Columbus’ 200th Birthday in our most important events and communications. We will especially focus on our renewed efforts in organizing volunteers to improve and strengthen our community in the areas of Education, Income, Health and Home.
This will include a special 200Columbus edition of Community Care Day, central Ohio’s largest one-day volunteering event. This will be the premiere volunteering event of the entire bicentennial year, and our goal is to make this the biggest Community Care Day ever, to showcase Columbus’ volunteer spirit. To accomplish this, for the first time ever, the event will be open to the general public for groups of at least five people who wish to work together on a service project. Information on how to sign up will be available later this year at liveunitedcentralohio.org.
In 2012, Community Care Day will take place on the National Day of Service on September 11. Over the past 20 years, Community Care Day mobilized more than 75,000 volunteers and provided an estimated half a million dollars in equivalent labor costs to United Way member agencies, other nonprofit organizations, neighborhood groups and local schools.
“The bicentennial year is the perfect time to celebrate the spirit of collaboration that has been so important to creating our great city,” said Janet E. Jackson, President and CEO, United Way of Central Ohio, and a member of the City of Columbus 2012 Bicentennial Planning Commission. “It is the right time to re-dedicate ourselves to ensuring that everyone in our vibrant, diverse community has the opportunities to realize their potential.”
Some of United Way of Central Ohio’s other efforts to celebrate 200Columbus include:
• Co-branded emails, website, news releases, newsletters and annual report
• Co-branded Celebration of Excellence, United Way’s annual event to honor organizations that have conducted excellent campaigns
• Affinity Groups such as the Women’s Leadership Council and Pride Council holding events celebrating 200Columbus the Bicentennial
• Volunteer Groups, GenNext and Pride Gives creating volunteer activities aligned with the Bicentennial’s forward-looking theme
• A bicentennial award category for Neighborhood Partnership Grants
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About United Way of Central Ohio:
Founded in 1923, United Way of Central Ohio is working to advance the common good by focusing on the building blocks of a better life: a quality education that leads to a productive career, enough income to support a family through retirement, good health, and a safe place to live. Together, we can achieve real, lasting improvements in our community. For more information, visit www.liveunitedcentralohio.org.
About 200Columbus the Bicentennial:
A year-long commemoration of the founding of the City of Columbus 200 years ago, during which we work together to inspire community pride and engagement in the city’s increasing vitality, to create a foundation for national and global recognition of Columbus as a premier place to live, work and visit.