Volunteers Bill Douglas, Rylee Creeger and Ken Barnes of Hino Motors build a walking path at the Parkersburg YMCA on Thursday as part of the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley's 10th annual Day of Action where volunteers go out and do service projects for local non-profits supported by the United Way. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG – Volunteers were out in force Thursday helping many area non-profits with needed service projects during the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley’s 10th annual Day of Action.

Around 150 volunteers went out to 16 sites around the area to help with various service projects for United Way-funded non-profit agencies, said United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley Executive Director Stacy DeCicco in a video posted on their Facebook page at the beginning of the day during a kickoff breakfast held at the Camden Clark Medical Center for all the volunteers.

“It is a fantastic day of service that happens all across the Mid-Ohio Valley,” she said of the Day of Action event. “We have people out on the ground providing service and support for our programs.”

Volunteers worked on projects ranging from cleaning up the playground and building a walking path at the Parkersburg YMCA to doing landscape work at the O’Neill Center in Marietta to volunteers helping to organize and price items at the Habitat For Humanity Restore in Vienna and more.

There were a handful of people assisting with cleanup work and landscaping updates at the O’Neill Center in Marietta. The volunteers were from Camden Clark.

Volunteer Angie Neiswanger of the Camden Clark Medical Center helps organize items at the Habitat For Humanity Restore in Vienna during the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley's 10th Annual Day of Action on Thursday. (Photo Provided)

The O’Neill Center was among the many locations volunteers were at to provide services as part of the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley’s Day of Action.

“We’re here from WVU (Medicine) in Parkersburg working here at the O’Neill center,” said Micki George with WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. “There’s various groups working at different places.” 

The Day of Action is a collaboration of the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley and sponsor WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center. Other groups who volunteered to help Thursday included Hino Motors; Ohio Valley Health Care; Integrated Health Centers of West Virginia; McDonough, Eddy, Poling & Baylous CPAs; Community Bank of Parkersburg; Huntington National Bank; and WesBanco.

A group of eight volunteers were at the Habitat For Humanity ReStore in Vienna helping to organize donations, price items, placing items on the sales floor and preparing for the “Christmas in July” event that will start Wednesday, July 1. The volunteers were from WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center and Ohio Valley Health Care.

Cassie Kerns, nurse recruiter with Camden Clark said the Day of Action is something a lot of people who work at the medical center plan for annually to be able to participate.

Volunteer Joe Taranto of Hino Motors rakes up loose gravel around the playground at the Parkersburg YMCA on Thursday as part of the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley's 10th Annual Day of Action. Volunteers did various service projects for non-profit organizations supported by the United Way. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“(Camden Clark) does this Day of Action every year,” she said. “I know many of us look forward to this day every single year.

“They put the date out and we all put it on our calendars immediately and sign up. It is a fun way to get out and be involved with our community that we serve every day. This is just a different way we can help serve.”

Connections are made among the volunteers and those at the non-profits that will allow them to help people in the community be able to help others access those services that some people may not know about.

Chris McBee, administrator for Ohio Valley Health Care, said these service days allow volunteers to see how local non-profit organizations operate and how they are able to do what they do. It helps create connection points where they can guide patients and others who might be in need of their services.

“We try to make sure that we put ourselves out there and have that interaction with the community as we are a part of the community ourselves,” McBee said. “It is very key that we have that interaction and try to support all of our non-profits.”

Volunteers, many from the Camden Clark Medical Center, organize donations, and price them at the Habitat For Humanity ReStore in Vienna on Thursday as part of the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley's 10th Annual Day of Action. (Photo provided)

The volunteers are always impressed with what it takes to run many of the non-profit groups in the area with the time, effort and manpower it takes for these organizations to be able to do what they do.

“Being on the inside has been very eye opening to all of us,” McBee said. “It is interesting for us to see how these non-profits operate.”

Different groups and organizations were providing lunch for the workers. Stout Methodist Church provided lunch for the volunteers at the ReStore.

Vicki Mueller of Stout said this was their third year or so of providing meals for the volunteers.

“Habitat For Humanity is a Christian based organization,” she said. “Our mission team tries to find different people to help.

Volunteers, many from the Camden Clark Medical Center, organize donations, at the Habitat For Humanity ReStore in Vienna on Thursday to get them ready to be put out for sale as part of the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley's 10th Annual Day of Action. Volunteers spent the day helping non-profit organizations supported by the United Way. (Photo provided)

“It is important because their mission is to help other people and we want to support those who are helping others.”

A team of five volunteers from Hino Motors worked at the Parkersburg Arts Center in the morning and moved to the Parkersburg YMCA in the afternoon.

Criss Welshans, chief operating officer at the YMCA, said the volunteers from Hino Motors were working on a couple of projects to help keep the kids safe on the Y’s playground facility.

The volunteers laid a walking path to help keep the kids from slipping in the mud and falling, she said adding others were raking and removing gravel from the main playground area so when they come off the slide and other equipment they are not injuring themselves on the gravel.

Bill Douglas, one of the Hino volunteers, said doing the service projects is an opportunity for them to come out and be involved in helping others.

Micki George, Samantha Bates, and Diana Hudkins with WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center volunteer for the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley’s Day of Action. They clean the landscaping around the O’Neill Center in Marietta on Thursday.  (Photo by Amber Phipps)

“We wanted to be able to give back to the community,” he said.

Hino has been focused this year on being more involved in the community, said Ken Barnes, another Hino volunteer. The company is setting out to hit a target of having their people doing 50 hours of volunteer service a month, he added. They have helped out with various projects around the area including food donation collections and more.

Welshans said the YMCA is always thankful for the help.

“We always appreciate the United Way asking us if we could use the help,” she said. “We can always use some extra hands.

“They are always so enthusiastic and excited to help us out. It always means a lot.”

Staff Writer Amber Phipps contributed to this story.

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com

Micki George and Diana Hudkins with WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center clean the gardens and landscaping around the O’Neill Center on Thursday. The ladies were volunteering their time in partnership with the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley’s Day of Action.