One day before the 14th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, the United Way hosted its annual Day of Caring, and hundreds of volunteers blanketed the city with acts of kindness.
"We're doing what we can to make the world a better place," said Michael Bratcher, an Ace Hardware merchandise director.
Bratcher was one of some 500 volunteers completing projects for nearly 30 nonprofit organizations Thursday. An additional 17 projects will be completed at a later date.
This year's event ties in with the nationwide "9/11 Day of Remembrance and Service," an event focused on turning tragedy into triumph, according to the United Way's news release.
Projects ranged from refinishing playgrounds and painting buildings to gardening and cleaning. Volunteers donated about 3,000 volunteer hours valued at more than $69,000, United Way officials said.
"A lot of these places can't afford the work being done today, that's a big thing," said Wayne Collins, the United Way's vice president of marketing/communications.
Volunteers painted at the Chambliss Center for Children and cleaned at the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults.
Ace Hardware craftsmen came with their wood, electric saws and nail guns for building improvements. Three Men And A Truck volunteers transported donated items. And United Way volunteers landscaped playgrounds and organized donated supplies to help their communities.
Collins and more than a dozen Ace Hardware volunteers spent the day cleaning and organizing the former Mary Anne Garber School, now called the Teacher Supply Depot.
"Before they started working, it was pretty much chaos. Everything brought in this summer was brought in and pretty much just set down," said Sherrie Ford, president of Hamilton County Council of PTAs.
The School Supply Depot got its largest donation ever this year after the United Way's Stuff the Bus fundraiser.
The organization collected $76,000 in school supplies this year. It also received a one-time donation of 625,000 pencils.
Boxes of notebook paper, hand sanitizer and paper towels cluttered hallways. And the hundreds of thousands of pencils filled the hallways.
Volunteers didn't just sort them into piles. Ace Hardware personnel built display shelves and organized the items so teachers can find and see them better.
The Hamilton County PTA schedules teachers to come to the depot for 30 minutes and shop for any school supplies they need.
For some students, the only supplies they get for a year are those that have been donated, Ace Hardware and United Way officials said.
"Great things happen when people work together," Collins said.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at 423-757-6431 or yputman@timesfreepress.com.