An hour here and an hour there, Jillian Sypole and her band of volunteers are making Warren a cleaner, better place.
Since late last year Ms. Sypole, the founder of Volunteer Warren, has organized an army of more than 100 active volunteers who have agreed to take on projects large and small across Warren, going where there’s a need for their informal help.
They’ve cleaned Jamiel’s Park, helped prepare meals for the needy at Thanksgiving and Christmas, shoveled snow during the recent storm for those who were unable, and spent 40 “volunteer hours” on Martin Luther King Day painting two dingy old classrooms in the Mary V. Quirk School.
The goal of it all is to create a culture of volunteerism and friendship in Warren, and Ms. Sypole hopes that volunteers will contribute 2,017 hours of community service this year. So far, they’re at 222.
“It’s going really well, overwhelmingly well,” said Ms. Sypole, a social worker who lives with her husband on Coomer Avenue.
“We’ve formed a really great community, and there are a lot of people on board,” she said. “The whole point is to reduce barriers to giving your time.”
Ms. Sypole has always been fond of volunteering, and has been on the Warren Recreation Board for more than a year. For some time she had been wanting to do more, but finding opportunities that suited her schedule and interests wasn’t easy. One sleepless night a few days after the November election, she struck on the idea of Volunteer Warren.
“I’d been wanted to get connected in Warren since moving here, but I was having a hard time finding my own space. I didn’t feel like a lot of the (volunteer charitable organizations) were a good fit for me, and I wanted to be somewhat flexible; I would like to work with a diverse crowd. So after the election I was lying there and I had this idea for a volunteer corps.”
“I woke my husband up at 3 a.m. to tell him, and he said, ‘That sounds great!’ and went back to sleep.”
Two days later, she’d written a letter to the editor, talked to a few of her close friends about the plan and started a Facebook page. Since then a website and Youtube channel have followed, and more volunteers sign up every day.
“Its really taken off,” she said. “It’s very flexible; if you have 30 minutes to serve, you can help.”
Volunteer Warren finds and assigns volunteers through its Facebook page and website, and looks for people and organizations in need.
That’s how a group of about 19 volunteers ended up at the Quirk School Monday. The Warren Recreation Department uses the four upstairs classrooms during rainy days in the summer rec. program, but they’ve needed sprucing up for some time. Ms. Sypole brought in 10 gallons of sky blue paint procured by recreation director Tara Thibaudeau, and volunteers got to work, finishing two of the four rooms in a few hours. They’ll be back, she said.
There are other plans for 2017 as well. Volunteers plan to help bushwhack trails for the Warren Land Conservation Trust, help keep trash receptacles clean at public recreation places such as Burr’s Hill and Jamiel’s Park, and take on other projects as needed.
With any luck, Ms. Sypole said volunteers will hit 2,017 hours by the end of the year.
“We’re getting there,” she said. “It doesn’t take a lot (to get involved) and the hours add up.
Note: If you would like to join Volunteer Warren, or if you have projects or need the help of volunteers, see the organization’s Facebook page, call 401-903-2882, or send an e-mail to volunteerwarren@gmail.com.