The United Way of Charlotte County kicked off their 50th year with their annual Day of Caring yesterday. This year’s theme is “We have a birthday wish… a Community without Poverty”.

Over 40% of households in Charlotte County are walking a financial tightrope.

The United Way works with a wide range of partners to make an impact on poverty in our community. This year they are partnering with 40 programs from 27 local agencies aimed towards education, financial stability and wellness. The money raised here in Charlotte County stays within our county.

The Day of Caring began at the Charlotte County Chamber’s Third Wednesday Coffee event. There the United Way announced their annual goal of $950,000 and over $23,000 was raised in 15 minutes by Chamber members. From there, the large group divided among 12 different service projects.

Crystal, Lindsey, Dr. Bender, and Pam.Crystal, Lindsey, Dr. Bender, and Pam

Panther Hollow Dental Lodge volunteered with Lutheran Services, where we helped transform their visitation room. The visitation room is where children that have been separated from their families get to have supervised visitation.

We brightened the room with paint, cleaned, brought along new toys and a children’s sized table, and hung pictures to make the room a more comfortable and cheerful environment.

We had a great day and look forward to participating with the United Way’s 2015-2016 Campaign.

Feel free to contact the United Way at unitedwayccfl.org or info@unitedwayccfl.org for more information on how you can help with this year’s campaign!