Volunteers fan out for local projects during United Days of Caring

Volunteer work organized by the United Way of Southeast Missouri took several forms over the weekend, from smoke-detector checking to demolition.

United Way’s annual United Days of Caring volunteer drive, which began Friday and runs through today, included nearly 20 scheduled projects in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area.

Projects included construction on local Habitat for Humanity houses, landscaping at Perryville’s Women’s Crisis Center and enclosing a bathroom to the Bollinger County Recycling Center.

Although several projects were postponed for various reasons, the gutting of a house at 323 N. Fountain St. went ahead as scheduled.

Jeremy McBroom, director of Southeast Missouri State University’s Military and Veterans’ Services, said the house is intended to serve as “transitional housing” for student veterans at Southeast through the Student Veterans Organization.

Matt Golden takes a sledgehammer to a fuse box in the veterans transition house Saturday as part of the United Way Days of Caring in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

Matt Golden, Southeast student and president of SVO, took a break from hammering to explain the project. The day’s goal was rip up the bad flooring, tear out the electrical wiring and fix plumbing elements.

The work load, he said, would not have been possible without the help from the United Way.

“It’s been great having help from their volunteers,” he said. “We’re getting outside help, as well as networking. We’re meeting people who want to help us.”

People such as Ricky Fowler, a student at Southeast who isn’t affiliated with SVO.

“Basically, I just heard the Days of Caring were going on, and I decided to show up,” he said through a painter’s mask. “And now I’m pulling out nails.”

Preety Pradhan cuts vinyl siding Saturday at a Habitat for Humanity house construction site in Jackson as part of the United Way Days of Caring.Fred Lynch

The university, McBroom said, realizes the seriousness of the needs some student veterans have and the obstacles they face.

“We’ve seen homeless veterans, people of college age, around downtown Cape Girardeau,” he said. “Some of the churches, actually, have brought people in to our office on campus.”

He said one veteran spent two semesters working two jobs, supporting a wife and three children in North Carolina, while living out of his van.

“It just broke our heart,” McBroom said. “It was like, ‘What is it that we could do?’... That’s what this place is, for people who might need some sort of assistance, a place to stay for them to get back on their feet.”

The SVO began working on the project over a year ago, McBroom said. At that time, they had plenty of volunteers, but labor flow tapered off, which is why the SVO was thankful for the United Way’s help in attracting new volunteers.

“Now, with the United Days of Caring, we’ve had a lot more interest back into the project,” he said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627