Westerville Annual Service Day

February 22, 2018

12:00 AM

The heart of a thriving community lies in the involvement of its members, and Service Day, hosted by Leadership Westerville and Leadership Today, offers a prime opportunity for such involvement.

Taking place April 7 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Service Day is an annual endeavor that seeks to assist individuals in the community, with special focus on the senior and homebound citizens of Westerville.

This year, the organization has taken a slightly different approach, dividing up into smaller groups to partner with various nonprofit organizations in the area leading up to and on Service Day. One of these organizations is Westerville-based My Very Own Blanket, which aims to provide every child in foster care with a pillowcase and blanket personalized with his or her name.

“Service Day has a profound impact on the community.We hope to make their spring a little bit more beautiful for them.” Matt Lofy

Another partnering nonprofit this year is Neighboring Bridges, founded by Westerville resident Rick Bannister. Neighboring Bridges seeks to connect local organizations and individuals via social media with community members in need to help address specific, individual needs. This mutually beneficial partnership is intended to increase community support for Westerville, while Leadership Westerville will help support Neighboring Bridges expand to additional communities, with Dublin and Hilliard among the cities mentioned.

“Service Day has a profound impact on the community,” says Matt Lofy, 2013 alumnus and manager of Leadership Westerville. “We hope to make their spring a little bit more beautiful for them.”

This year’s Service Day will be the first since the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce took over the day-to-day operations of Leadership Westerville, and Lofy’s first as manager of the program. When Leadership Westerville first began looking to hire a new manager, board members saw there was a need for more administrative support to facilitate greater reach throughout the community, which led to a more integrated partnership with the Chamber.

This change has already paid dividends, generating a greater presence within the community and on social media platforms. Many small business owners have already cleared their schedules to apply for participation in the next program.

Bianca Wilson is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.