Day of Caring brings out the spirit of giving

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Peter Dean
  • 107th Airlift wing
On the morning of Aug. 17th 20 members of the 107th Airlift Wing converged at the Corpus Christi Church in Buffalo, NY to give the grounds a much needed facelift. The members armed with scrapers, brushes, and rollers donned their protective gear and attacked the surrounding fences, guard rails and basement windows with a fresh coat of paint.
Chris Cooley the head volunteer for the Corpus Christi Church said, "It means the world to us, to have you guy's from the 107th come down and help out. With so many people we can get so much done in a very short time."
The effort put forth today by the members of the 107th was just a small part of what happened throughout Eire and Niagara counties. In what is dubbed as The Day of Caring, more than 3000 volunteers participated in the largest single-day volunteer effort. Established in 1992 by the United Way it is intended to promote the spirit and value of volunteerism, increase the awareness of local human service agencies and schools, and demonstrate what people working together for a community's good can accomplish.
107th volunteer and area resident Tech. Sgt. Krystalore Stegner said, "Personally I really enjoy the community, I grew up in Buffalo and I think there is a lot of potential. Unfortunately there's a lot of run down houses, but I really think that we can make a difference in our community. By making it look better people will want to stay, grow up here, and raise their families.
Six years ago 1nd Lt. Lindsay Sorce established a connection with the local United Way and with the blessing of her commander she recruited members that were willing to take a time out of their daily routine and donate a few hours of blood, sweat and tears.
"The participation has doubled in just a few short years," said Sorce. "This is a great way for the 107th to give back to the community and say thanks for their support, hopefully next year we will have even more participants," she added.