CHENANGO COUNTY – The rain didn’t stop local residents from coming out and volunteering for their community on Saturday, during the Second Annual United Way Day of Caring.

The official kick off to the Chenango United Way campaign was a huge success according to Campaign Coordinator Victoria Mitchell. “Last year, 95 individuals donated their time at 13 project sites for the Day of Caring. This year, we were looking for 125 to 150 volunteers and 15 to 18 project sites,” Mitchell said. “Today we have 217 volunteers working at 23 project sites around the county.”

Volunteers donated half a day to help non-profit agencies complete projects. The day’s work included landscaping, painting, cleaning, serving food at soup kitchens, working at blood drives and other tasks aimed at helping the local non-profit agencies.

To begin the Day of Caring, volunteers gathered at the Norwich YMCA for breakfast, entertainment and announcements before the day’s events began. A group of 16 students from Perry Browne, directed by music teacher David Kirsch, performed songs as volunteers gathered for the event.

Chenango United Way Director Elizabeth Monaco thanked the volunteers for attending and her board for their work throughout the year. Monaco explained this year, United Ways across the country will be performing similar events and operating under one theme, “Live United.” “Working together we can reach a hand out to others, and by working and advocating together, we can make a difference,” Monaco said.