One Day + Hundreds of Volunteers =
Immeasurable Good for Our Community


Day of Action is a day when our nonprofit partners team up with corporate volunteers to help accomplish projects, big and small.

In the era of face masks, online learning, and social distancing, Day of Action will look and feel different. This year, we aim to meet community needs while helping keep our volunteers and nonprofit partners healthy and safe. Most of our 2020 Day of Action volunteer opportunities will either be remote or social-distanced in-person activities.

This one-day event organized by United Way of Central Iowa promotes employee engagement, raises awareness about community issues, and benefits central Iowans who need our help.

With projects for groups of different sizes, interests, and skill sets, volunteers can select a project and a United Way partner that complements your team. Employees come home knowing they made a difference in the lives of their neighbors in need.

Day of Action Logo

Resources

For your ease, we'll manage your employee sign-up and provide a unique web page for your team's selected project.

If you have questions, please contact Alicia Jones at alicia.jones@unitedwaydm.org

 

2020 Day of Action Signature Volunteer Opportunities

Stuff the Bus Children's Book Drive
Sponsored by Athene and Shazam, Inc. 

Companies come together to donate children's books for children without access to books at home. Books collected will be distributed to United Way’s funded partner programs, child care centers, and in-home child care providers.

 

 

Collection-Drive
Collection-Drive
Opportunity

Family-Friendly Opportunity

Family-Friendly
Opportunity

Small-Group

Small Group
Opportunity

Conversations Powered by Purpose

What's your purpose? Though the question seems simple, our health data shows that many central Iowans are lacking a sense of purpose, one of our five factors of well-being. Volunteers will have a series of small group conversations with other people from our community who are seeking answers to this important question and, in doing so, hoping to improve their mental health. 

 

Virtual Opportunity
Virtual
Opportunity

Notes of Encouragement 

Write notes of encouragement to thank or to show others in our community that you care about them by filling out a the quick form on the Notes of Encouragement page. United Way will share your messages with our nonprofit partners who are serving people who are in healthcare, are nonprofit frontline workers providing food and basic needs, seniors in care facilities who can't see family, and kids whose school and out-of-school programming are new and different. These people need the time and positivity you have to give. A note will remind them that they are important and they matter. 

Virtual Opportunity
Virtual
Opportunity

Family-Friendly Opportunity
Family-Friendly
Opportunity

Literacy Kits

Host a Literacy Kit building event through your company. Employees say making literacy kits is a meaningful break in their workday and the kits can be assembled wherever your team is working, whether in the office or virtually. Literacy kits are designed by experts to focus on the skills young children need when learning to read while, at the same time, diving deeper into the book and its themes. Literacy kits by children in the classroom, in after-school programs, in early childhood centers, and for building libraries at home.

Family-Friendly Opportunity
Family-Friendly
Opportunity

Small-Group
Small Group
Opportunity

Hands-on Opportunity
Hands-On
Opportunity

 

Visit our Get Connected portal for other  volunteer opportunities. 

 

In 2019 on Day of Action:

  • 46 business and 4,706 volunteers participated

  • Individuals volunteered with 29 United Way partners on 147 different projects.
  • Volunteers contributed 9,827 volunteer hours, a value of $242,634.