Day of Caring - Microsoft employees spend the day at three Shoreline schools

Newly painted student designed drawings
hang on a fence at Parkwood Elementary

All photos courtesy Shoreline Schools

The United Way of King County Day of Caring is an annual event where employees are given the day to volunteer at a non-profit, usually to work on special projects.

“At United Way of King County, we believe that everyone has a role in building a strong community,” said Jon Fine, CEO of United Way of King County. “It’s inspirational to see thousands of people going out to do the work. That’s what it means to live united and that’s why we make it easy and accessible, so people can volunteer all year long.”

11,800 volunteers lent their time and energy to nonprofits all over the county as part of the 2014 United Way Day of Caring.

• More than half of the volunteers came from Microsoft
• 533 projects hosted by tons of nonprofits
• 57,328 hours of work finished, valued at $1.5 million

The sign says it all.

In Shoreline, Microsoft volunteers spent the day on September 19, 2014 at three schools in the Shoreline School District: The Children's Center, Parkwood Elementary, and Briarcrest Elementary.

Microsoft has a long history with the district, having come to the Children's Center for 10 years now. It was the third year for Microsoft employees at Parkwood and Briarcrest.

Children's Center

The commitment of volunteers continues to provide a wonderful space for children and their families in over eight Interactive play spaces and rqo traditional playgrounds. The project for the day was be to restore and beautify the Dinosaur Interactive Garden, re-cutting and painting dinosaur shapes, painting the surrounding chain link fence, and adding landscape touches to the area leading up to the garden. Other tasks for the day included weeding, pruning and redefining other interactive gardens.

Volunteers beautifying the grounds at the Children's Center.

Everything is checked off the To Do list at the Children's Center.

Briarcrest Elementary

Briarcrest is a K-6 public school in the Shoreline School District. With a large campus with huge garden beds, they wanted some help with a fall gardening day, removing weeds and old growth. Volunteers helped the kindergarteners plant some tulip bulbs at the end of the day. "Thank you, Microsoft, for helping our school look great for our students and families at BC!"

Briarcrest students assisting volunteers

A busy day cleaning up the Briarcrest campus.

Parkwood Elementary

Volunteers spent the day cleaning up and beautifying the grounds of the school. At Parkwood, volunteers also called families to remind them of curriculum night event, and painted murals now displayed on the school's fence facing Wallingford Avenue North.

A volunteer phoning parents to remind them of Curriculum Night.

Volunteers painted murals based on those drawn by Parkwood students.

Hedge trimming crew at Parkwood.