Lorain County United Way launches Week of Caring with painting rooms at The Linden School

ELYRIA, Ohio - The United Way of Greater Lorain County launched its "week of caring," as more than 200 volunteers take action on nearly two dozen projects, in several cities.

One of the kick-off projects took place at The Linden School in Elyria, a non-profit, year-round facility, that provides education and care, to children ages six weeks to 10 years old..

Volunteers from EMH Healthcare spent two days painting classrooms at the school, thus brightening the smiles on dozens of children.

"Our focus area at United Way of Greater Lorain County is education, income and health," said United Way Marketing Director Allison Brown-Smith. "We believe these projects are the building blocks for quality of life, and we want to make sure we are improving our communities."

The United Way Week of caring Continue through Sept. 15 and includes a community job and resource fair, free legal clinic, Second Harvest food bank drive and an outdoor naturescape project.

Residents who are interested in volunteering, or donating, can find a full schedule of events on the United Way of Greater Lorain County website .

EMH Healthcare volunteer Joe Pribanic told NewsChannel5 that volunteering has big benefits for everyone involved, including the children at The Linden School.

"It's always nice to see others smile," said Pribanic. "When you feel you have contributed to that smile, that's where the value is." 

Meanwhile, NewsChannel5 is also trying to spark volunteerism and help make a difference when it comes to vacant and condemned properties.

We're inviting residents to report nuisance properties through our Building Better Neighborhood initiative .

Just send us pictures and information on vacant homes in your neighborhood and we'll forward the information to your city building department, in an effort to move the properties to progress.

We are also giving residents information on how they can volunteer in their neighborhoods to make them better.