By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – More than 3,500 volunteers participated in Wednesday's 13th annual United Way Day of Caring.
After meeting in the morning at HSBC Arena, the volunteers set off for dozens of sites across the region.
WBFO News stopped at the recently renovated Highgate Heights Elementary School in Buffalo where a group from the University at Buffalo was preparing to do some work. Donna Scuto is with sponsored program services at UB. She said the volunteers were planning to spruce up the school.
"They (the school district) renovated it. They did an excellent job. But it needed some cleaning up," Scuto said.
The UB volunteers planted flowers, cleaned the parking lot and did some interior cleaning in preparation for the school year beginning in September.
In a unique volunteer activity Wednesday, employees from Praxair are held a fishing derby at Hoyt Lake to teach inner-city children how to fish.
The Day of Caring marks the official start of the annual community care campaign of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County.