Mary Mortimer and Real Boudreau wash dishes at the soon-to-be-open kitchen at the Salvation Army in Beloit while Kyle Damon and Emmet Malone help organize the space. Damon, Malone, Mortimer and Boudreau are volunteers from Kerry Ingredients & Flavours Inc. who volunteered Wednesday as part of the United Way Day of Caring event.

Front: Melissa Bennett and Amanda Bragg helped organize Family Promise of Greater Beloit’s storage space for people in need while Stacey Sharp organizes diapers and baby supplies. The volunteers from ABC Supply Stadium were participating as a part of United Way’s Day of Caring event on Wednesday.

Marissa Rehberg, an accountant at ABC Supply Co. volunteered with her co-workers by organizing a storage room at Family Promise of Greater Beloit’s new space. She and many other volunteers were helping non-profit agencies Wednesday as part of the United Way Day of Caring.

Mary Mortimer and Real Boudreau wash dishes at the soon-to-be-open kitchen at the Salvation Army in Beloit while Kyle Damon and Emmet Malone help organize the space. Damon, Malone, Mortimer and Boudreau are volunteers from Kerry Ingredients & Flavours Inc. who volunteered Wednesday as part of the United Way Day of Caring event.

Front: Melissa Bennett and Amanda Bragg helped organize Family Promise of Greater Beloit’s storage space for people in need while Stacey Sharp organizes diapers and baby supplies. The volunteers from ABC Supply Stadium were participating as a part of United Way’s Day of Caring event on Wednesday.

Marissa Rehberg, an accountant at ABC Supply Co. volunteered with her co-workers by organizing a storage room at Family Promise of Greater Beloit’s new space. She and many other volunteers were helping non-profit agencies Wednesday as part of the United Way Day of Caring.

BELOIT—More than 375 volunteers took up paint brushes, brooms and gardening tools to lend a hand at non-profit agencies throughout the Stateline Area Wednesday during the United Way Blackhawk Region’s Day of Caring.

Volunteers worked on 50 total projects in the area as a kick-off of the United Way Blackhawk Region’s capital campaign.

United Way Blackhawk Region is celebrating its 10th anniversary of providing resources to non-profit organizations. The Day of Caring has been one way the organization has been providing assistance to non-profits.

The Day of Caring is a day when teams of volunteers from local companies go out to complete projects for non-profit organizations.

These projects ranged from weeding a garden, cleaning facilities and painting. Volunteers went to non-profits in Beloit, Janesville, Edgerton, Milton and Roscoe.

The projects spanned throughout Rock County, Wisconsin and northern Winnebago County, Illinois.

A group of four employees from Kerry Ingredients & Flavours Inc. in Beloit volunteered to help re-establish The Salvation Army’s dining services in Beloit. This was accomplished by deep cleaning the kitchen at the Beloit location on Broad Street and rearranging furniture.

The team was headed by Mary Mortimer, Treasury Administrator at Kerry Ingredients and Flavours.

“Kerry has been involved with Day of Caring since its inception,” Mortimer explained. “I have volunteered every year to participate and give back to the community.”

Kerry Ingredients & Flavours has a specific program called Kerry Employment Engagement Program (KEEP) that promotes giving back to the community through events like the Day of Caring.

“This is exactly what KEEP and our company are about, which is giving back to the community,” Mortimer said. “It’s important to find out what places like the Salvation Army need and help the best way we can.”

The Salvation Army kitchen was closed two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it has not been in use since.

“People used to be able to use this space and dining times as a social experience and we want to be able to bring that back to the community,” said Cheryl Maveety, who will serve as cook for The Salvation Army in Beloit.

The kitchen used to be open four days a week and could accommodate over 40 individuals.

“We will have to play our schedule by ear, because other hot food services have opened up since,” said Tom McDowell, major for the Rock County Salvation Army. “We want to be be able to complement those instead of competing.”

Another volunteering project was helping the new Family Promise of Greater Beloit location organize its storage room and clean windows. A group of volunteers from ABC Supply’s accounting department made a difference.

The team was led by Heather Bornick, an accountant at ABC Supply.

“This is our first year being able to volunteer for Day of Caring and we are excited to be able to give back to the community,” Bornick said. “Giving back to the community is one of ABC Supply’s core values.”

Tammie King-Johnson, Executive Director of Family Promise, which assists homeless families, provided water and a heart-felt welcome to the volunteers..

“We only moved into this space in June and our volunteers are going up in age, King-Johnson said. “If it wasn’t for the Day of Caring and this team these tasks would be nearly impossible.”

Family Promise of Greater Beloit is able to accommodate nine families or 31 individuals. The storage space Bornick’s team organized will allow the volunteers to get supplies for the guests a lot easier.

Other volunteer projects in Beloit included painting picnic tables in City of Beloit parks, help with flower and plant maintenance at Riverside Park and cleaning up at Beckman Mill County Park. Crews also helped out with landscaping at the Stateline Family YMCA in Roscoe.

The United Way Day of Caring is looking for volunteers to lend a hand to local non-profits.

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