CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Some 2100 volunteers are ready to go working on some 115 projects for Wednesday’s 34th Annual United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring. Former NewsRadio WINA owner Laurence Richardson helped put this annual event together first in 1992 when there were 50 volunteers.

United Way Director of Development Ben Wilkes says volunteers will do things across the gamut from hands-on labor to scratching a line-item off a nonprofit’s budget. The estimated value of this service is expected to be over $365,000, including donated materials and supplies.

Wilkes says for many local organizations, Day of Caring provides vital support — accomplishing projects that otherwise wouldn’t fit in the budget, while connecting with community members in meaningful ways and building relationships that will last.

“When these volunteers go out and they connect with their neighbors and nonprofits, magical things happen. Those long-term community connections are formed, and often the nonprofits we find end up with recurring volunteers, or donors, or board members out of this event,” Wilkes said.

“It’s a great opportunity to build employee repoire,” Wilkes highlights.

“These days, there’s a lot of remote happening, and bringing together teams around something that’s community-minded is a huge benefit for team building, but also to make people working remotely feel really rooted in greater Charlottesville.”

“Nothing like going out and sweating a little bit together to accomplish that.”

“For the community, it’s a massive scale of impact.”

Projects are happening not just in Albemarle County and Charlottesville, but in Greene, Orange, Louisa, Fluvanna, and Nelson counties.

The 2025 sponsoring organizations are:

  • University of Virginia

  • Sentara

  • Carter Myers Automotive

  • Bank of America

  • Woodard Properties

  • Manning Family Foundation

  • Apex Clean Energy

  • TELUS Digital

  • Virginia Credit Union

  • Atlantic Union Bank

  • Timberwood Tap House

  • UVA Health

  • Dominion Energy

  • Panorama Paydirt

  • UVA Community Credit Union

  • Piedmont Virginia Community College

  • Brown Advisory

  • Pinnacle Physical Therapy

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