Elizabeth Parker, Senior Writer
Over 1,000 faculty and staff members from the University participated in the annual Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring Wednesday. The event brings together volunteers from all over Albemarle County to work on a variety of service projects for 100 non-profit organizations and schools in our community.
“It was a really wonderful, successful day. 1,800 people were out there working in this community because they really believe in the value of service,” Caroline Emerson, United Way vice president for community engagement, said.
Emerson stressed the role of the Day of Caring in the individual experiences of each of the volunteers.
“It introduces volunteers to different organizations. We at United Way hope that people will understand how easy it is to make a difference. They will get a great taste of volunteering and want to continue with the organization where they were or with a new organization,” Emerson said.
About half of attending University employees represented the Health System and the others were from the academic division. University employees set a participation record this year and composed 60 percent of all Day of Caring volunteers.
“There were about 100 teams and so that means if you count U.Va. as one team, there were a lot of other organizations whether they were companies, local employers, civic organizations or service organizations,” Emerson said.
The event — which began in 1991 — was first named to honor Laurence “Larry” E. Richardson in 1999. Richardson was the president of the Charlottesville Broadcasting Company and a regular volunteer with the United Way, and represented the spirit the organization tries to foster, Emerson said.
“He was a wonderful guy and a huge proponent of volunteering,” she said. “We wanted to honor that because that’s the kind of spirit we’re trying to encourage.”
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