Volunteers take part in United Way Day of Caring
Roberto M. Esquivel/HeraldStandard.com
Bill Reinhard, an employee with Atlantic Broadband, applies a coat of paint to the bleachers at Bailey Park in Uniontown, Wednesday morning. Reinhard, along with several other volunteers, were participating the United Way’s Day of Caring service program.
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.comcom
A team of Atlantic Broadband employees volunteered their time to help with renovation work at Bailey Park in Uniontown. Josephine Conaway helps with painting the dugouts at the Bailey Park softball field.
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.comcom
A team of Atlantic Broadband employees volunteered their time to help with renovation work at Bailey Park in Uniontown on Wednesday. Tasha Conway helps Uniontown parks supervisor Eric Sampson paint the bleacher frames for the upgrades to the baseball field at the park.
John F. Brothers/HeraldStandard.comcom
A team of Atlantic Broadband employees volunteered their time to help with renovation work at Bailey Park in Uniontown. Jeremy Fields (left) and Jeremiah Farrell repair the roof to one of the dugouts at the softball field.
The ongoing rehabilitation project at Uniontown’s Bailey Park received a boost Wednesday from the United Way of Fayette Inc.’s annual Day of Caring.
“It’s always been a part of the United Way to give back to communities,” said Sue Quinn, Fayette Region director.
Volunteers from Atlantic Broadband and Uniontown Area High School eagerly joined the city in working at the baseball field at jobs that included painting bleachers, a small dugout and the bottom portions of light standards.
Amanda Brant, who was coordinating the Day of Caring for Atlantic Broadband, said the company brought 19 volunteers for its first year of participation.
Natalie Kurchak, marketing manager from Johnstown, said Atlantic Broadband was partnering with the Outdoor Channel Corps to do the Bailey Park project in conjunction with National Public Lands Day.
A press release explained the corps is a philanthropic program created by the Outdoor Channel to restore and improve public lands and spaces to ensure that the outdoor lifestyle thrives in communities across America.
“It’s an initiative the Outdoor Channel has embraced,” said Kurchak, who noted the network created a commercial, posters and press release to attract volunteers to the Bailey Park project and supplied a tent for the day as well as T-shirts and tote bags for the volunteers.
Working alongside the adults were five Uniontown Area High School seniors who are helping revitalize the park. They included Quinn’s son Brandon, who is redoing the park’s main sign as an Eagle Scout project, as well as four members of the high school baseball team: Dante O’Connell, Tyler Mayers, Joe Superick and Aaron Litman, who have raised money and hope to create two new dugouts for the baseball field as their senior project.
“It’s beneficial to everybody to renovate the park,” said O’Connell.
“We want to make it better for younger kids,” said Superick.
“It will be nice to play here,” said Litman.
“And we want to make it better for people who come to watch the games,” said Mayers, who noted it also will reduce transportation costs for the team, which now plays home games at the Wharton Township recreation park.
Work has been ongoing at the park but the Day of Caring gave a lift to the project, with Mayor Ed Fike and other city officials, such as Councilman Francis “Joby” Palumbo and treasurer Joseph Giachetti welcoming those who came to work.
Fike said, “I’m very proud of the volunteers who give their time to revitalize our city.”
United Way volunteers from Eat ‘N Park, Hunter Panel, First Energy and Communities in Schools also tackled projects Wednesday at Connellsville Community Ministries, Connellsville Community Center, Fayette County Domestic Violence Services, a home in Allison and the Smithfield Borough building.