Columbus Volunteer Challenge to be Premier Service Event of the Bicentennial

By: Janet E. Jackson
President and CEO
United Way of Central Ohio

The people of central Ohio have shown their enthusiastic support for events throughout the bicentennial year, but the best is yet to come. Our generous, service-minded city likes to do things bigger and better than other places and with that in mind, we have developed the Columbus Volunteer Challenge – a city-wide volunteer event focused on lifting up and highlighting the importance of service to others.

Led in partnership by the City of Columbus and United Way of Central Ohio, the Columbus Volunteer Challenge will kick off on Saturday, August 25 and run through September 11, the National Day of Service. These two days will bookend an 18-day span of volunteer projects that will engage people across our community.

Mayor Coleman has dubbed the Columbus Volunteer Challenge “the premier service event of the bicentennial” and sees it as a living legacy of Columbus’ bicentennial year that will carry forward in years to come. He has set a goal of inspiring 20,000 volunteers to serve. Make no mistake, this is an historic event.

This event will mobilize far more people than we ever have before, and will stand as a symbol to our entire nation of how central Ohio comes together to improve lives and strengthen our vibrant community. And we want everyone to participate. Whether you are someone who volunteers regularly, or someone who has been meaning to take on a volunteer project but just hasn’t gotten around to it, we want you to join us.
The Columbus Volunteer Challenge is the perfect opportunity to transform good intentions into action that will make a difference in the lives of our families, friends and neighbors. The engaged people of central Ohio pitch in and get things done, and it gives us the opportunity to get things done on a huge scale.

This is a great example of how the government, nonprofit, faith-based, education and business communities are coming together to benefit our entire community. I know that the results of this event will have long-lasting positive effects, and I urge everyone to not only participate in the Columbus Volunteer Challenge but to also reach out to others and get them involved.

This is a great opportunity for groups to develop and host projects for volunteers. And we want to make sure that all of the great ongoing volunteer activities in our community are counted. Every hour of service will make a difference, so we want everyone to be a part of history in the making. You can get involved by going to Columbus Volunteer Challenge .org and registering for a project.

Together, we will make the Columbus Volunteer Challenge a true milestone in our bicentennial year and a legacy of service for the future.