July 1, 2016
Written by Sara Blackburn, United Way Intern
On June 22, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County held the Retiree Day of Service. This annual event aims to empower community members who have retired and want to use some of their extra time to give back. The United Way Retiree advisory board who organizes the event each year, includes retired community members from across our four-county region.
This year’s event focused on helping local veterans. Seventy retirees volunteered to help put together “cheer kits,” which were care packages that would put a smile on anyone’s face who’s served our country. The kits included items such as a deck of cards, a stress ball, and a stamped envelope if they want to send a letter, and information about United Way. Also included in the kits was a personal letter written by one of the volunteers to show each veteran how appreciated they are for their service.
The day of service had special meaning to volunteer Scott Pavelchik who retired from the Wisconsin International Guard over two years ago after 30 years of service. “People don’t realize how something so simple like this kit could be very helpful to a local veteran in need of assistance,” he says. Scott is not new to volunteering and has actually served the community in many capacities, including as a United Way Loaned Executive last year.
The Retiree Day of Service was truly a success. Thank you to all the volunteers who assembled and delivered 2,500 cheer kits to organizations around the Milwaukee area. Special thanks to Depend for sponsoring this event.
Listen to 88.1 WMWK's interview about Retiree Day of Service.