United Way was contacted on Christmas Eve day by the Idaho for Obama folks who were looking to create an unprecedented participatory inauguration. They wanted to capture the enthusiasm surrounding the historic event and direct it into service to the community. So the Treasure Valley, along with thousands of other communities, got busy directing people’s good will and excitement into a massive volunteer workforce that would go to work improving things right in our own neighborhoods.
 
United Way is uniquely qualified to pull off such an event; we have fantastic partnerships with dozens of non-profit agencies, businesses, and civic organizations. We also have the technology to organize, manage and promote the event through the Volunteer Center website. But still. We were shooting for projects for hundreds of volunteers with less than two weeks to plan them. It seemed like a Volunteer Impossible assignment.
 
But you know what happened? Ten different agencies throughout the Treasure Valley leapt up to the plate and pulled together 14 different projects that would take place on Martin Luther King Day, the day before the inauguration. And so, with just two weeks to organize, these agencies found themselves host to more than 250 volunteers who sorted food donations, painted buildings, performed maintenance at facilities, spent time with Veterans and donated blood. And the best part? About 90 percent of these volunteers were first timers. And that’s awesome.

Check out our dirty work for the good of the cause.