The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Sunday, April 21, 2002

MERCER COUNTY AREA

County winners named by mag
§   §   §
Volunteer Services Division helps make a difference


By Erin Remai
Herald Staff Writer

Many people and organizations came together to make this year's winning local Make a Difference Day project a success.

The Volunteer Service Division of the United Way of Mercer County and the Grove City Area United Way was named the local award winner for The Herald reading area by USA Weekend magazine, which sponsors Make a Difference Day, for coordinating various volunteer projects around the county.

The April 19-21 issue of USA Weekend, available with today's Herald, contains a list of all national and local winners.

The Volunteer Service Division had received requests for volunteers for 11 projects, said Daniel Dilley, representative for the Volunteer Service Division. Eight projects were completed on Make a Difference Day -- Oct. 27 -- and three projects had to be postponed due to cold weather.

The projects included:

  • A medical equipment recycling program, which took place at centers in Sharon, Greenville and Grove City. Items were dropped off at the sites and then cleaned and repaired by the Care Team of the Volunteer Services Division; members of the Greenville High School Key Club and members of Phi Omega Sigma at Grove City College. Craig Findley of Sharpsville delivered the medical equipment for recycling.

  • Members of the Greenville High School Key Club painted the interior of The Literacy Council of Mercer County in Greenville.

  • The Student Government Association from Penn State Shenango painted the kitchen area at the Ark House in Farrell.

  • Students from the Keystone Adolescent Center in West Salem Township did fall clean-up at the Mercer County Historical Society.

  • The Penn State Shenango Adults Seeking Knowledge group and Care Team members sorted donated eyeglasses at the Keystone Blind Association in Sharon.

  • The Helping Hands group at Grove City College and Grove City High School students hung shelves, took walls down, moved furniture and did general clean-up work at the Grove City Area Historical Society.

  • Keystone Adolescent Center students washed wheelchairs at the John XXIII Personal Care Home in Hermitage.

  • The staff of Community Counseling Center held a Halloween party for area children.

  • A Grove City youth group organized by Jason Dunn cleaned up and did outside painting at the Children's Aid Society. This project was postponed because of weather.

    Also postponed was a grass seeding at the Grove City Area YMCA by Slippery Rock University students and a painting project at the MCAR by Business Institute of Pennsylvania students.

    The Volunteer Service Division formed 3 1/2 years ago as part of the AmeriCorps VISTA program. The duties of the Volunteer Service Division are to encourage people to help perform tasks that will benefit non-profit agencies, and to make those duties enriching and rewarding to the individuals who donate their time, Dilley said.

    The Volunteer Service Division has participated in Make a Difference Day since the division's inception. The division's next project is the United Way Day of Caring, which will take place on April 27.

    Dilley emphasized that Make A Difference Day would not have been a success without all of the volunteers who donated their time

    "I don't take any praise. It's these volunteers that deserve all the credit," Dilley said. "If they didn't come out, nothing would be done. The praise goes out to all the great volunteers of Mercer County."

    You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Erin Remai at eremai@sharon-herald.com.



    • Back to TOP // Herald Local news // Local this day's headlines // Herald Home page

    Questions/comments: online@sharon-herald.com
    For info about advertising on our site or Web-site creation: advertising@sharon-herald.com
    Copyright ©2002 The Sharon Herald Co. All rights reserved.
    Reproduction or retransmission in any form is prohibited without our permission.

    '10615