TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

A small army of college students with brooms, mops, buckets and dust rags descended on Kern Child Abuse Prevention's Chester Avenue offices Saturday. The agency and its sister group, Haven Counseling Center, were among 22 nonprofit organizations benefitting from United Way's 2010 Day of Caring.

Each year, United Way pairs volunteer teams from local companies and organizations with nonprofit agencies that need work done. This year's Day of Caring assigned 980 volunteers from 24 companies to 52 projects.

The community service event is held annually on the second Saturday of September, which this year fell on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"It's especially poignant that it's on Sept. 11 this year," said Karen Cooley, Kern Child Abuse Prevention Council's executive director, who speculated that her agency, at least, may have drawn more volunteers as a result.

"I can't say for sure, but it's awfully crowded in here," Cooley said as she maneuvered through teenagers and young adults in matching T-shirts and blue rubber gloves.

The event kicked off with a breakfast at Stramler Park and addresses by dignitaries including Mayor Harvey Hall. Volunteers then dispersed to agencies all over town to get to work.

The council opted to use its free labor for deep cleaning. There were 13 workers from Cal State Bakersfield's Community Service Cooperative club, and another 15 council employees who donated time on their day off.

"We aren't able to get much done beyond the basic, routine cleaning the rest of the year because we're all busy working, but with all the extra hands today it really makes it go a lot quicker," Cooley said.

CSUB political science major Myriam Valdez, 20, brought her 15-year-old sister with her to scrub floors, walls and windows and dust furniture.

"This is my third or fourth year volunteering for Day of Caring," she said. "I like helping people and this event is awesome. You just show up and they feed you breakfast and tell you what you need to do."

The club's 24-year-old president, graduate student Nancy Solis, said Day of Caring is a great way to expose people interested in volunteering to the many needs in the community.

"They organize everything and make it so easy for you," she said.

Ebony Counseling Center, which offers programs to combat gang violence and substance abuse, got a new exterior paint job courtesy of about 40 volunteers from Robert Heely Construction. Its dark chocolate trim and accent walls were covered in a more cheerful golden chestnut brown.

"They didn't have enough paint and supplies so we went out and bought them some more, which sort of expanded the project," said the construction firm's chief executive officer, Craig Bonna, who also sits on the United Way board.

Day of Caring benefits recipients and givers alike, he added. "It's a great team building effort that gets co-workers and their families out working together," Bonna said.

Ebony Counseling Center executive director Irma Carson said without Day of Caring, small nonprofits with limited budgets have a hard time implementing capital improvement projects.

"The grants don't cover them, so you have to go out and organize fundraisers to get the money to pay for them, and most people don't want to do that because it takes resources away from your core mission," she said. "Without these people here today, this sort of stuff would just never get done."