Scraping, sanding and power-washing a deck isn't an average work day for employees of Enbridge Energy Inc., but then again, Wednesday wasn't a normal work day for more than 400 people in the Twin Ports.
Companies from the Duluth and Superior area volunteered in the United Way's 13th annual Day of Caring, a day when people of all trades take time out of their work week and devote it to the community.
The event kicked off just before noon with encouragement, advice and praise from event organizers and Duluth Mayor Don Ness.
In Duluth, more than 250 volunteers worked at 52 sites. For the entire Twin Ports area, more than 2,000 labor hours were devoted to projects including property restoration, food shelf organization and neighborhood picnics.
Before heading out to their work sites, volunteers helped assemble Ready-Set-Learn backpacks containing learning tools for preschoolers at the Memorial Park West Duluth Community Center. The 1,200 backpacks will be distributed to area youngsters during early childhood screening programs, said Deborah McCauley, marketing director for Duluth's United Way.
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About 15 employees from Enbridge, which has an office in Superior, spent the day at Jeanette Pollay, a Girl Scout camp near the intersection of Jean Duluth and Martin roads. The camp has been used by the Girl Scouts since 1927.
"The original plan for them today was to stain the deck, but due to our inclement spring we are now going to have them prep the deck and hopefully we'll get it stained over the weekend," said Gail Close of the Girl Scout Council. "They'll be power-washing and cleaning up the deck and getting it ready to go for the summer."
In the past, the Jeanette Pollay camp has had to pay for the services they got for free on Wednesday. Money saved on property upkeep means more money for activities the camp offers to Girl Scout troops from around the state.
Dan Klarner is an engineer; on a normal Wednesday he helps Enbridge develop safety standards for the company's 8,500 miles of oil and natural gas pipelines. On this day his engineering skills were put to the test by a power washer that didn't want to start.
"It worked before, but there was no water coming out," Klarner said to another volunteer. "Now there's water coming out but itdoesn't want to start."
It didn't take long for the pair to get the washer started.
The deck wasn't the only work that needed to be done at the camp. Railings needed sanding, weeds needed pulling and pathways needed sweeping. The best task was given to Sarah Herrick and Ashley McEachern; they got to clear a shelf of "little treasures," consisting primarily of animal bones that had been collected by campers last summer.
"We've found a few skulls, some mushroom tops and rocks," said Herrick, a major project assistant. "It's nice to be outside when it's so gorgeous out. My typical day is never like this at all."
