One day a year Turlockers gather with the same goal in mind — to make a difference in their community. The volunteer day known as Love Turlock will be held this year on April 25, and organizers say there is still time to sign up for a service project.
“There are still a lot of projects that need a few more people,” said longtime organizer Holly Evans.
Last year’s event saw over 800 volunteers tackle 42 projects. There are 37 projects listed on the Love Turlock website, from making blankets and toys for shelter dogs, to helping the Turlock Community Garden with clean-up and making placemats for senior citizens.
“We tend to have our usual ones like the Gospel Mission, We Care and Prodigal Sons and Daughters, big nonprofits that always need some kind of help. But the (projects) that people really seem to like are the neighbor who needs help mowing their lawn or weeding and that kind of thing. They just got older and don’t have family nearby,” Evans said.
She said that over the years, there’s been an increase in the number of projects at local school sites. This year, Dennis Earl Elementary needs help with outdoor painting on curbs, walkway lines and on their blacktop; Fusion Charter School need help with beautification efforts like garden bed clean-up and greenhouse maintenance; Julien Elementary needs help painting lines on their playground and updating basketball hoops; Wakefield Elementary needs help giving the walls and doors a fresh coat of paint; Walnut Elementary also needs help painting on their playground; and Crowell Elementary needs some repainting on the playground and sprucing up their garden.
The school projects take up a lot of manpower and are always looking for more volunteers. But there are also a number of opportunities for those who aren’t able to do much manual labor. There will be projects to make placemats and planters for local senior citizens, painting rocks with encouraging words to be placed in city parks and volunteers needed to put together teacher appreciation baskets.
Love Turlock begins at 8 a.m. at Donnelly Park with a morning rally before volunteers meet up with their project leaders. The day of service ends with a barbecue lunch provided by the Kiwanis Club of Turlock starting at 11:30 a.m. served at Donnelly Park.
To sign up to volunteer, visit loveturlock.com.
“I love the service part of (the day),” said Evans. “It makes your heart warm, and it makes you feel like you’re giving the community hope and cleaning up our city, making it more beautiful. It just feels good to give to our community and our neighbors.”
