About 205 volunteers completed 35 projects last Saturday as the annual Day of Caring through the United Way of Mower County.

“Day of Caring is a great event that gives everyone in Mower County the opportunity to give back. At some point in time we are all going to need help, and it’s inspiring to see that so many people are willing to do so. The event shows just how giving and caring this community truly is,” said Allie Gearhart, United Way communication specialist, in a press release.

After a kick-off at Austin High School, volunteers completed projects throughout Austin and an additional project in LeRoy. It was Day of Caring’s first out-county project held in LeRoy.

Day of Caring is a community-wide event where teams work together to complete projects for homeowners and organizations who are not able to complete the projects themselves. Most of our projects help senior citizens in our community to remain independent and living in their own homes. This year, in addition to helping homeowners, volunteers also assisted the Cedar River Watershed District in their flood clean-up efforts.

Joy Deng, a member of the Austin girls swim team, picks up garbage along the Cedar River Saturday morning as part of the United Way of Mower County’s Day of Caring. Herald file photo