The Lakewood community’s giving tradition is renewed every spring as hundreds of volunteers fan out across the city to participate in Lakewood Volunteer Day projects. Numerous community groups mobilize to help Lakewood residents in need. They’re a diverse collection of community groups, kids, and adults who roll up their sleeves and pitch in at work sites throughout the city.

"The program has grown in recent years. We started small, with community groups helping. For the people we help it's terrific and it's really grown. Groups who help keep coming back, and new groups join in, even city employees on their own time. Word is getting out and we're excited to see it really becoming a community event and folks really want to help," says one of the event's coordinators.

The city has been the overall organizer and helps volunteer groups focus their energies. Crews begin hammering away around 7:00 a.m. and work into the afternoon. They clear overgrown front and backyards, fill trash cans with debris, along with wheel barrels and dumpsters.

"Lakewood is very aggressive in volunteering. It's a part of our Volunteers in Action program run by the Recreation and Community Services Department. Members of this community like to volunteer. They are always willing to give some of their time. The community embraces it and we can always use the help to improve Lakewood," says coordinator Sabrina Junkin.

The event has become an annual tradition among community groups, organizations and individuals as they plan their annual efforts. It is an easy, organized way to provide meaningful community service to Lakewood residents in need. Just as the recipients receive a benefit, so does the community and the volunteers.

"Today we just wanted to give back to the community. They support our school and our sports programs, so this is a way we can give back something by helping out people do some work they can't do for themselves. For me, there's a lot satisfaction just helping people, doing community service. I just like to help people," says James Washington a teen volunteer from Mayfair High School.

Lakewood Volunteer Day is just a sample of the many ways community groups, organizations and individuals give meaningful community service. Participants emphasize their want to help their neighborhoods and that they gain a lot of satisfaction from the work.

"It's just a nice feeling, helping someone out, cleaning up a house or yard if they can't do it. It's satisfying, just like when you fix up your own house," explains Joe Sheldon a participant from the Lakewood City Employees Association.