If you think a torrential downpour could stop the spirit of those taking part in the United Way of West Central Mississippi’s annual Day of Caring Thursday, think again.

While the morning kickoff for the annual service day was moved to United Way’s large conference room, rain did little to deter those from coming out to serve.

“We traditionally have about 250 volunteers come out,” United Way director Michele Connelly said. “This year, we had 297 take part. And to make it better, for me as a Vicksburg High School graduate, we had a group of about 40-50 students from Vicksburg High School come out and take part.”

Connely said the only impact the weather had was moving many of the outdoor-oriented projects indoors and rescheduling two others.

Work on the community garden was moved to Friday, while work with the Warren County Children’s Shelter was moved to next Thursday.

Each year, United Ways across the country participate in the Day of Caring.

The event brings together teams of volunteers from local businesses to help non-profit organizations across Warren, Sharkey, Issaquena, Yazoo and Claiborne County.

This year, 18 non-profit organizations were helped.

“We had people in the consignment store organizing items and getting that ready. We had sheetrock work going on at one of our Habitat homes,” Connelly said. “We had food pantries being cleaned out. At Jacob’s Ladder, we had volunteers from Mutual Credit Union helping with pottery projects.”

Volunteer groups, many representing local businesses and organizations, were matched with a needed project that best aligned with their group size, skill level and interest.

For information on  other United Way events and projects, contact the United Way of West Central Mississippi at 601-636-1733.