MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – To mark 200 years, the City of Memphis teamed up with Volunteer Odyssey, The United Way and Wells Fargo to host “A New Century of Service.”
More than 200 volunteers signed up for service projects, like cleaning up the river front and packing food at the Mid-South Food Bank.
“So it really shows both where we are going in the new century and what we still have to do,” said Kenneth Robinson, United Way Mid-South president and CEO.
“We’re excited to come in here and give back to the community as a group and as a team,” said Julie Stonebarger, volunteer.
Along with ushering in a new century with a service mindset, Wednesday also marked the end of a year-long initiative called the year of service with Volunteer Odyssey.
The volunteer initiative kicked off at MLK 50 and ended on Memphis’ bicentennial.
“We surpassed all of our goals. We hit almost 100,000 hours of service which is worth an econimc impact to our community of $2.6 million,” said Doctor Sarah Petschonek, Volunteer Odyssey.
Organizers hope the volunteers take it as a call to action and continue to give back to Memphis everyday.