Martin Volunteers, a program of United Way of Martin County, recently organized teams of volunteers from UPS and Macy’s to help two local agencies improve their facilities and stretch their resources to help clients.

On April 12, about a dozen UPS workers painted the kitchen and cafeteria at Gertrude Walden Child Care Center. And on April 21, Macy’s workers put a fresh coat of paint on the administration building at the ARC of Martin County.

Volunteer duty for the ARC –  Advocates for the Rights of the Challenged – continues in May. A group of workers from J.C. Penney will be installing window treatments and landscaping at the Stypmann House, a group home for some of the ARC clients. Also, Pratt & Whitney volunteers likely will paint the ARC building where activities for clients are held. Last year, Pratt volunteers painted buildings at Hope Rural School and did an "extreme make-over" of a hurricane-damaged home in Indiantown.

“The Done-in-a-Day projects are a great way for people to get a first-hand look at agencies that are helping to improve lives,” Martin Volunteers project coordinator Anne Lalley said. “They also provide team-building opportunities for workplaces or other groups, and the projects deepen participants’ relationship to their community.”

Examples of other projects performed by companies and civic groups include:

• Employees from South Florida Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine set up rooms at the new SafeSpace domestic violence shelter.

• The Martin County Master Gardeners did landscaping at Dunbar Center in Hobe Sound.

• Azteca Roofing built a playground at the Boys and Girls Club in Indiantown (this was more of a Done-in-a-Week project!)

For more information about how groups can get involved, please contact Martin Volunteers project coordinator Anne Lalley at (772) 220-4472, ext. 232.

Information about Martin Volunteers is available at www.martinvolunteers.org.