Contributed Photos
Peter Schaller of United Way sent in this write-up and these photos:
Despite the cooler temperatures and morning rain, hundreds of hearty volunteers banded together to beautify parks and neighborhoods across seven different sites in New Haven Saturday.
United Way of Greater New Haven mobilized the volunteers of all ages for the first-ever New Haven Day of Caring, coinciding with the start of the annual United Way fundraising campaign. Volunteers tackled general clean-up and beautification, trash pick-up, raking leaves, weeding, planting, painting and more.
“I think the projects today are terrific, but it’s more than just raking leaves and painting, it’s really about the power of what’s possible when we come together to make a difference,” said Jennifer Heath, President and CEO of United Way of Greater New Haven.
Serena Ly at the clean-up.
Volunteers got their start at 9 o’clock Saturday morning at East Rock Park. Then throughout the late morning and early afternoon different projects got underway at parks across the city including Criscuolo Park, DeGale Field, East Shore Park, Edgewood Park, and Lighthouse Point Park. The day of service wrapped up at Peat Meadow Park around 3 in the afternoon. Some of the highlights included clearing out sand and weeds from a parking lot at Lighthouse Park, so city crews could paint traffic and parking lines, pulling trash as big as tires and chairs from the trees around East Shore Park, and seeing volunteers as young as three years old roll up their sleeves alongside their parents for painting projects inside when it was raining outside. By the afternoon the sun peaked out, and volunteers reflected on a day well spent.
Brittany Baines.
“Many urban communities around New Haven are dilapidated and have many trash pieces and garbage around, everybody is making it a better place to be used recreationally and for other events,” said New Haven Day of Caring volunteer William Sapp.
Paul Crnkovic, with New Haven Parks, Recreation, and Trees said, “It was very inspirational to see people giving back and cleaning up the community, it made me feel good today.”
“I like to get involved, this is where I live around here, I got a group of staff and we are here,” said volunteer Josie Vazquez at the East Shore Park site.
Chris and Hazel Connolly.
According to United Way, projects like this help show their value in the community, noting that their organization can accomplish things that no one person or organization could do on their own.
United Way feeds the hungry, houses the homeless, and helps children get the best possible start in life with a good education.
The work Saturday will positively impact these neighborhoods, the people living nearby, and all of the volunteers who gave their time.
This citywide event is a partnership between United Way of Greater New Haven, New Haven Parks and Recreation, Yale University, Yale New Haven Health, and Dwight Hall, and all of these organizations were well represented among the volunteers.
It is great to see people take charge of their neighborhoods and clean up. I've done that myself. Participation in these projects connects us to our neighborhoods and adds to our emotional investment in them. It also introduces us to people we might not meet otherwise.
A different part of my brain wants to know if our volunteer work just makes it easier for city officials to keep cutting staff and services, even as they dine on the taxpayer's dollar.<br /> The Parks Dept. is stretched thin and has insufficient staff to carry out their work on the level they'd like.<br /> Bulk waste disposal has become an heroic undertaking. Just ask Wendy1 about her latest ordeal.<br /> Now that there's a fee for disposing of tires, they are popping up all over town like weeds, just bigger and darker.<br /> Little by little we are watching deteriorating services alongside significant tax increases. We have tax abatements for Ninth Square apartments and other favored projects, even as luxury rental projects proliferate.<br /> Will Yale wait for total collapse while it plays a game of hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil?<br /> None of this is beyond fair and equitable taxation and competent management with some vision and values.<br /> Where will we find that?<br /> .