"There's such a nice variety of organizations," says Zoey Leege about the upcoming Day of Caring through the United Way. The event takes place on Wednesday, June 26th.
Leege is the Community Engagement Coordinator for the organization and is prepping for another full day of community volunteer events. There are currently over 20 different projects looking for volunteers, including at the Damiano Center and the Duluth Dog Park.
Prior to the Day of Caring, the United Way is also involved with supporting a Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 15th. "There are a lot of volunteer needs around Juneteenth celebrations," says Leege.
"We need volunteers for the 14th for a pre-setup as well as volunteers for the 15th," says ChaQuana McEntyre with Family Rise Together. For the past seven years, Juneteenth celebrations have been happening in the Twin Ports. Each year, more people seem to be making these celebrations a tradition. "Our first year of celebrating... we had about 50 families come out and attend the event. Last year we had about 2,600 people."
Beyond the numbers, McEntyre also notes that the celebration includes a beauty contest for young black and biracial girls. The contest ties into the theme of "Black Body Positivity" which focuses on encouraging black men, women, and children to see their own beauty.
To sign up for a volunteer experience with the United Way Day of Caring, find the sign-up site online. To sign up to help with the Juneteenth event on June 14th and/or 15th, find more information here. Specific questions for the Juneteenth event happening at Harrison Park in Duluth can be directed to ChaQuana McEntyre through email.
You can hear Community Connection every Tuesday and Thursday at 8am on Northland Morning. This edition of Community Connection is made possible in part by Lakewalk Surgery Center.
