NORWICH – One hundred and seventy people came together Saturday morning to contribute to the well-being of several local communities – even ones they don’t live in.

The Chenango United Way’s 3rd Annual “Day of Caring” matched area volunteers, many representing local businesses, organizations and schools, to 30 projects across Chenango County. For four hours volunteers scraped, painted and landscaped the different sites, which included museums, churches and parks.

“It was kind of neat to be assigned to a community that I’m not necessarily a part of,” said Anne English, Norwich, who spent four hours sprucing up Cook Park in Greene.

The event officially kicked off Chenango United Way’s 2009 funding campaign.

“The Day of Caring embodies our campaign theme: ‘Give. Advocate. Volunteer.’, and shows the value of the United Way beyond fundraising,” said Bryne Lewis Allport, the county United Way’s Campaign Director. “It demonstrates our role as a community facilitator.”

The United Way, which raises and distributes money to local non-profit agencies and organizations that demonstrate a specific need and a purpose for the dollars, has set its 2009 campaign goal at $465,000. The organization will collecting money, mainly through individual efforts at area banks, businesses and corporations, until Dec. 31.

The number of volunteers for the Day of Caring, started in 2007, has nearly doubled in two years. This year, 35 were students from Colgate University, the largest group to participate.