United Way Day of Caring 2022

Submitted by Leslie Marinelli

SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNING: The following blog post contains images of dancing librarians wearing hairnets. Viewer discretion is advised.   

Last Friday was United Way of Forsyth County’s 21st Annual Day of Caring. Every year, hundreds of local volunteers assemble on one day to package non-perishable meals for local food pantries and programs. 

FCPL has been fielding a team of volunteers at this event since 2018 thanks to the leadership and recruiting efforts of Cumming Branch Manager Denise Leeson who is also a member of the UWFC Board of Directors. This year Anna Lyle, Ann Decherd, Kayla Bolton, Daisy Papa, and I attended on behalf of the Library.

Left to right: Anna Lyle, Kayla Bolton, Ann Decherd, Daisy Papa, Leslie Marinelli, Denise Leeson

After suiting up in plastic aprons and hairnets, our team was paired with volunteers from the FoCo Accountability Courts to assemble, weigh, package, and box family-sized packets of oatmeal. Each of us found our ideal spot on the assembly line pretty quickly: Anna was in charge of weighing (and adjusting!) the oatmeal packets (she is very precise), Kayla and I gravitated toward operating the heavy machinery (heat-sealing the plastic packets of oatmeal), and Ann and Daisy systematically labeled, counted, and packed 36 packets to a box. Our new friends with the Accountability Courts filled the bags with four ingredients before passing them on to us. They were happy to have the detailed-oriented librarians finish the process.

See the guy behind Anna in the yellow shirt? He was wearing one of those CamelBak hydration backpacks and carrying a gym towel. This was clearly not his first UW Day of Caring.  

  

The actual assembly line time was less than two hours and flew by thanks to fun music, mandated dance breaks, and some friendly competition to see which table could finish filling a box the fastest. At the end of the event there were 130,000 meals packaged, boxed, and ready to distribute throughout Forsyth County. 

There is something to be said about the teambuilding that occurs by problem solving together in universally unflattering uniforms. (I *may* have grabbed a few extra sets if anyone wants to dress up like lunch ladies with me.)  

This was my first UW Day of Caring, but it will definitely not be my last. Next year I'll wear dancing shoes and a CamelBak hydration pack.