Monarch staff supports “Day of Dreams” service project

Monarch administrative services staff stepped away from their desks recently to complete the agency’s first Day of Dreams project at Greenwood Street in Albemarle. They worked with the site’s staff and people we support to pull weeds, plant flowers and vegetables and spread mulch, and everyone enjoyed food and fellowship during lunch.

Day of Dreams will be an ongoing service project conducted each spring and fall, with staff at Monarch sites specifying the type of work needed at their locations, said Chief Information Officer Andy Basinger, who coordinated the initiative as part of the agency’s strategic plan.

“The goal is for us, as an administrative staff, to get out and work at the sites, spend time together and help the people we support make these projects their own,” Basinger said. “Day of Dreams will achieve multiple successes, since we’ll be getting to know each other better and doing work to improve our sites.”

System Support Professional Michelle Hopkins was the first to sign up as a volunteer, and the experience was everything she hoped it would be. “The people we support loved it!” she said. “Everyone really pitched in, and they were very proud of their garden.”

IT Engineer Chris Joffson especially enjoyed working with co-workers outside his normal work environment.

“I met people that I had assisted over the phone before, but had never met in person,” he said. “Working in IT, I do not normally get to work with the people we support. I enjoyed working with everyone and making the Greenwood location look much nicer.”

Randy Overcash, IT Helpdesk Manager, agreed: “To work with others and see what we were able to accomplish together was amazing.”

“The ground was bare and full of weeds,” Overcash said. “But when we finished, you could see beautiful flowers surrounded by neatly placed mulch. The end results were very beautiful and well-landscaped flower gardens. It was a rewarding experience.”