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73 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, September 21, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 12, 2004 Clay Bennett, 2, of Phoenix scrambles up a pile of topsoil Saturday as an army of volunteers hauls rock at the Early Head Start Center in Medford. About 300 volunteers worked on projects at six area sites as part of United Way's annual event. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven All in a day’s work Volunteers across the county pitch in to perform labors of love By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune Volunteers who would look more at home on a golf course sweat and strain Saturday as they lift rocks, shovel dirt and wrestle wheelbarrows at the Early Head Start center in Medford. The fruit of their labors will be a "playscape" at this center for infants and toddlers of the working poor. "Instead of slides and swings, the idea is to create a more natural environment," Blair Johnson says. Johnson is the director of the center, a 2,600-square-foot building on Merriman Road that opened about 15 months ago and now has four teachers and three assistants serving 16 children. Those doing the toting, lifting and building are part of a small army of some 300 volunteers fanning out to work at a half-dozen sites in the local United Way’s ninth annual Day of Caring. Other volunteers were painting the Center for Non-profit Legal Services in Medford, landscaping the Community Health Center in White City, painting a Living Opportunities group home in Medford, building a swing set at another Living Opportunities home and building picnic tables and a storage shed at the Medford YMCA. Advertisement The Day of Caring — it’s the biggest day in the county for volunteer service each year — kicks off United Way’s fall fund drive. This year’s campaign has a goal of $960,000, of which about 16 percent has been raised or pledged. The Early Head Start playscape will have a sandy area for play, a waterfall, a deck with an apple tree in the middle, a "toddler knoll" consisting of a dirt mound planted in woolly thyme, and more. Its elements are designed to work together to engage the senses of children up to age 3, encouraging them to explore their world. "We want it to be really sensory," Johnson says. "The more we can expose them to it, it’s developmentally enriching." Around back, volunteers are moving red-tipped photinia to create a "soundscape" where wee ones will be able to use mallets to pound on half-buried oil drums and various hanging chimes. An "infant mound" has been designed for those of the crawling persuasion. A large bench under a trellis will be a peaceful nook for moms and caregivers. Johnson says the day’s donations are valued at more than $4,000. Becky Snyder, of Medford, has volunteered for eight of the project’s nine years. She says area social service agencies submit proposals, and a United Way committee picks the winners in May. Pamela Sullivan, supervisor of the center, says having all this person-power making such radical change to the site in a single day reminds her of those home-makeover shows on television. "That’s what it feels like" she says. "To have the community involved like this is wonderful." Early Head Start serves children from 3 months to 3 years old whose parents work. It is the only site providing full day care through a partnership with the Department of Human Services. United Way helps pay for 48 programs through 36 agencies that help about one in three people in Jackson County. Sponsors of this year’s Day of Caring were Avista, Medford Fabrication, Lithia Automotive, Asante, Providence Medford Medical Center, the Mail Tribune and KTVL Channel 10. Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities