RUMFORD – Donald Haines, 93, of Mexico, got some much-needed yard work done Wednesday morning, thanks to the United Way. So, too, did Tom Gallant of Rumford’s Smith Crossing neighborhood on Route 108, and others in the River Valley area.
Haines, an organist for 82 years with the Baptist church in Mexico, stood in his Harlow Hill Road yard and watched as Oxford County United Way Day of Caring volunteers Doug MacIsaac and Cheryl Merchant mowed his overgrown lawn, trimmed brush and raked the yard.
Gallant did the same, taking snapshots to remember volunteers Andy St. Pierre, Sonya Janke and Kelli Carrier.
Janke and Carrier did spring cleaning inside Gallant’s home; St. Pierre used a chain saw to do brush work, then trimmed grass and brush on a steep side hill.
“Honest to God, I do not know what I would have done,” Gallant said. He said he hasn’t had the strength to do the yard work this spring.
All five of the volunteers are NewPage Inc. employees, who took time off work to help out, said Dave Law, the project’s overseer. A NewPage employee himself, Law is also the River Valley coordinator for United Way.
“Four years ago, we started to do this Day of Caring in Oxford County, one in South Paris and one in the River Valley, and they’ve been very successful,” Law said.
“People are very appreciative, and it’s very gratifying,” he added.
Wednesday’s work was supposed to have occurred last week, he said, but the rain postponed it to Wednesday. Thirty-five people from Hannaford in Rumford, NewPage, and the Oxford Federal Credit Union in Mexico volunteered.
The volunteers work for three to four hours doing community service work, helping people in need.
“Over the four years, we’ve done 30 projects with 140 volunteers, who worked 420 hours,” Law said.
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