'Give A Day' Week of Volunteering Begins Tomorrow

Louisville’s week-long volunteer campaign to clean up the city for the Kentucky Derby begins this weekend.Last year, Mayor Greg Fischer announced the city would try to recruit a record number of volunteers to participate in the Give A Day event. He asked businesses and individuals to sign up through Metro United Way and donate their time to various projects.Metro United’s Patty Belden says this is the third time Fischer has requested a large volunteer clean up since his inauguration last January. And she says the event is expected to be officially recognized by the Kentucky Derby each spring.“January was the first trial which was one day and then October was that second warm up period and get ready and then the decision was made that we would stick with a spring event,” she said.Last fall Metro United Way reported 9,000 volunteers for the second Give A Day event, which Belden says exceeded expectations. She also expects to meet Mayor Fischer’s goal of 55,000 volunteers for the spring event—so far, over 30,000 people have signed up.For a list of ways to get involved, visit the Give A Day website.