Happy National Volunteer Month! Valley of the Sun United Way is celebrating in a super special way with Operation Uplift! All month long we will be out with volunteers rising up for local communities. Join us at any (or all!) of these events coming up.

Share your experience on your Instagram story with fun, new Operation Uplift stickers and use #unitephx tagging @myvsuw!

WeekEnd Hunger Backpack Assembly

Tuesday, April 2^nd
8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
KTVK Station (Map)

WeekEnd Hunger Backpacks provide meals and snacks to children who rely on schools for two of their three daily meals Monday-Friday to ensure children will have meals throughout the weekend, returning to school on Monday morning ready to learn. Volunteers fill plastic store bags with non-perishable meal items and snacks to be distributed weekly to local Phoenix schools.

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Bret Tarver Elementary School Butterfly

Friday, April 5^th
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Bret R. Tarver Elementary School (Map)

Bret Tarver is participating in a nationwide Butterfly Effect project. This includes a large butterfly mural at the front of their school. Volunteers will be touching up the detail of the wing pattern and cleaning up the edges.

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CommUNITY Night with the Documentary “A Place at the Table”

Tuesday, April 9^th
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Valley of the Sun United Way Office (Map)

Bring the family together for a movie night that will spark conversation for philanthropy and a discussion about how we can engage in our community to make a difference. Join us to view “A Place at the Table: a documentary that investigates incidents of hunger experienced by millions of Americans, and proposed solutions to the problem”.

We will also have an Encouragement Card station. Encouragement Cards are brief notes that we include in our WeekEnd Hunger Backpacks that are delivered to 11 local schools to provide food over the weekend for 780 students throughout the school year.

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Earth Day at Spaces of Opportunity

Monday, April 22^nd
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Spaces of Opportunity Garden (Map)

At Spaces of Opportunity, a 19-acre urban farm collaborative of incredible community organizations, students will learn more about farming, sample healthy snacks from the garden and get their hands into the land. Volunteers will help with event set up and clean up, handing out samples and event flow support. What an exciting way to celebrate Earth Day!

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Guadalupe Day of Action

Friday, April 26^th
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Guadalupe Town Hall (Map)

To continue our partnership with the town of Guadalupe, we are having a Day of Action! Volunteers will be helping at the Semalulukut Community Garden, CPLC's Guadalupe Family Resource Center Garden and kick off the transformation of a current annex facility into a vibrant community center.

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Academia del Pueblo

Tuesday, April 30^th
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Academia del Pueblo (Map)

Dozens of volunteers across the Valley will come together at Academia del Pueblo Elementary School to spend a day making a difference in student’s lives. Volunteers are needed to serve on a career panel to discuss career exploration with youth and parents. Volunteers will also assist with assembling 1,000 School Readiness Kits onsite.

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Gardens

Get garden beds ready for the season so they will be ready to plant vegetables for local families. Volunteers will help with planting, cleanup of the garden areas, and preparing garden beds. Sign up for the dates and times that work for you below!

Maxine O Bush Elementary School Garden Clean Up

Thursday, April 4^th
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Maxine O Bush Elementary School (Map)

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Chicanos Por La Causa Garden Clean Up

Thursday, April 11^th
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Chicanos Por La Causa (Map)

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Golden Gate Community Center Garden Clean Up

Wednesday, April 24^th
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Golden Gate Community Center (Map)

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Spitalny Elementary School Garden Clean Up

Thursday, April 25^th
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Spitalny Justine Elementary (Map)

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Glenn L. Downs Garden Clean Up

Thursday, April 25^th
2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Glenn L. Downs Elementary School (Map)

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Pueblo Del Sol Clean Up

Monday, April 29^th
1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Pueblo Del Sol Elementary School (Map)

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School Beautifications

Keep local schools looking beautiful by working on campus to improve the environment students engage with and see every day. Volunteers will help with painting and clean up of school areas determined in partnership with school officials.

Madrid Elementary School Beautification

Saturday, April 6^th
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Madrid School (Map)

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Brooks Academy

Tuesday, April 9^th
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Brooks Academy (Map)

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Imes Elementary School Beautification

Saturday, April 13^th
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Isaac E Imes Elementary (Map)

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