A group of volunteers at a Bladen County residence where a wheelchair ramp was installed for a single mother and her special needs daughter.
Courtesy of Tate Johnson
LUMBERTON — Once again, residents in the Lumber River United Way service areas have shown how much they love our communities through a successful United Way Day of Caring.
The event kicked off with fanfare provided by the Lumberton High School Band at Day of Caring title sponsor Lumberton Chevrolet Buick GMC Hummer. Lumber River Executive Director, Tate Johnson, welcomed volunteers, staff of Lumberton Chevrolet, and Mrs. North Carolina Plus America 2023 Labecca Lesane.
The 11th Knit-In held at the Lumberton Chevrolet dealership, Bladen Ag-Extension office, and Hoke Ad-Extension office produced 353 mastectomy pillows, 60 chemo-port seatbelt protectors, blankets, and more. GRAIL, a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, sponsored the 11th Knit-In and other Day of Caring projects to support cancer patients in the communities served by Lumber River United Way.
Some of the featured projects in Robeson County included: sorting new clothing for McKinney-Vento students with the Public Schools of Robeson County, clean up/beautification around Robeson County Partnership for Children, Adopt-A-Highway clean-up of 2 miles of Highway 211, and a food drive with the City of Lumberton employees that donated 860 lbs. of nonperishable items.
“So many great projects across Bladen, Hoke, and Robeson County were completed by dedicated volunteers” stated United Way Director of Community Impact Tomeika Munn. “Home repairs and a ramp build in Bladen County and downtown beautification in Raeford just to name a few.”
A record 310 volunteers provided 929 hours of service throughout United Way’s footprint. The IRS assesses the “wage value” for the 2023 Day of Caring to be $29,570.84.
About Lumber River United Way
We unite to create positive, lasting change for people in need. We are a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to solving the most pressing health and human service needs by assisting people in Bladen, Hoke, and Robeson Counties. We work every day to achieve our vision and mission by focusing on the four foundations for building better lives: Health, Education, Financial Stability, and Basic Needs/Crisis