This past week, individuals supported by the Supported Volunteering and Lifestyle Enrichment (SVLE) program at Aspire of WNY had the opportunity to volunteer with Eight Days of Hope. This national organization serves communities through mass feeding, disaster response, community rebuilding, and safe houses.
For the past six years, Eight Days of Hope has focused humanitarian efforts in Buffalo by reforming a district across eight days. This year, Eight Days of Hope took to the Ellicott District, serving 341 homes with 1,805 volunteers from 37 states. Among the volunteers were two groups of individuals from SVLE—Erie who volunteered for several days.
Each day of Eight Days of Hope begins with a morning meeting and breakfast before volunteers are assembled into crews. Volunteers can pick from various jobs, including weeding, landscaping, mowing, roofing, painting, and laundry. Lunch is brought to each worksite for all volunteers, and at the end of the day, groups close with dinner and a wrap-up meeting.
Three volunteers from the SVLE-Erie program were Ashley, Hayley, and Lorenzo. Ashley served on the food line, did laundry, and helped clean the facilities volunteers from other states stayed in. Hayley helped with laundry for the week, while Lorenzo helped replenish supplies, clean facilities, and bussed tables after dinner.
Each individual who volunteered with Eight Days of Hope received an Eight Days of Hope T-shirt to wear during their volunteer work and tickets to the Darien Lake theme park and the music festival held there at the end of the week. National recording artists Ben Fuller and Terrian also gave private performances for the volunteers throughout the week.
“This has been an amazing experience for all our volunteer participants over the past two years. Great community connections are made, and this year, so many out-of-state volunteers remembered individuals from our agency,” explains Liane Agro, Coordinator of Day Services Opportunities. “This is truly what inclusion looks like and why we continue to grow the SVLE program.”
Thank you to Eight Days of Hope for helping us make an IMPACT in the lives of the individuals supported by Aspire of WNY by providing a secure and welcoming environment for volunteers from our agency! SVLE-Erie looks forward to returning to Eight Days of Hope in future years.