Volunteer Spotlight: Day of Caring with Lutheran Life Villages & 1st Source Bank

We are incredibly grateful to have been chosen by two amazing organizations to participate in this year’s Day of Caring, an annual United Way event that unites communities through volunteer service.

Our first group, Lutheran Life Villages, joined us at the Habitat for Humanity storage facility where they assembled 20 bookshelves. Each will be donated to a new homeowner, complete with a starter set of books to begin their home library. For many families, this will be their very first new piece of furniture. To make it even more special, volunteers signed the backs of each bookshelf with messages of encouragement and congratulations.

Our second group, 1st Source Bank, came to our Summit office to lend their support to Project Reads, our afterschool reading program. They assembled 75 student folders, 75 communication folders, and organized 16 material boxes — saving our staff hours of work and helping ensure the program runs smoothly as the new school year begins.

We are so thankful for the generosity, energy, and dedication of both groups. Their efforts directly support literacy in our community and make a tangible difference in the lives of children and families we serve.

From left to right: Ashley Douglas, Erica Smith, John Martin, Tricia Neary, Alex Kiefer, Amy Riegling, Amy Juday, Jennifer Zurbuch, Angie Dane, Amanda Hoeppner

The team from Lutheran Life Villages was equally enthusiastic about the chance to give back:

“We have been the beneficiaries of so many great makeovers and volunteer help over the years at LLV — including this year when over 60 people from Kroger and Lutheran Hospital beautified our grounds for our residents on our South Anthony Campus. We relish the opportunity to give back. It was our pleasure to pay it forward by helping out The Literacy Alliance. We have so much respect for the work your team does for the community, and it was a great opportunity for our leadership team to work together on this meaningful project.”
— Brad Saleik, Philanthropy Manager, Lutheran Life Villages

Back row L to R: Thomas Moffitt, Lauren Whitesell, Doug Thurber, Cindy Frederick, Luke Squires. Front row L to R: Tony Patrick, Michael Quigley*

“We were proud to partner with The Literacy Alliance during United Way’s Day of Caring. Supporting Project Reads gave us a chance to help young learners start the school year with the tools they need to succeed. We chose this volunteer opportunity because we believe literacy opens doors – and every child deserves that opportunity.”
— Lauren Whitesell, 1st Source Bank Administrative Assistant