Friday might have been her day off, but Mandy Smith was still hard at work putting up a much-needed fence at the bottom of Mental Health America of Aiken County's Nurture Home staircase on Greenville Street.
Smith joined more than 200 other Savannah River Nuclear Solutions employees in the 19th annual Project VISION - a community initiative for the United Way of Aiken County.
Employees volunteered on 21 teams and provided facility maintenance at 12 United Way partner agencies, including the organization's office on Barnwell Avenue.
The program is a year-round effort that gives volunteers an opportunity to assist Aiken County's seniors and disabled owner-occupants who cannot afford essential home repairs.
As Smith made measurements for the fence at Nurture Home, she explained that SRNS does a good job of making time for employees to participate in community opportunities. In addition to the fence, volunteers also installed a shower at the home.
"The people here always are so grateful for the help, and it just shows that there's always an opportunity to help someone," she said.
Next door, fellow SRNS staffer Cynthia Williams and others were renovating window frames and putting new flooring in the exam rooms of the Community Medical Clinic of Aiken County.
Nearby at the United Way office, Jeff Evans and Scott Williams said volunteers helped by painting walls, hanging blinds, trimming tree limbs, cleaning the patio area and washing the siding.
"I think everyone's been doing a good job out here, and it's been fun working on these things," Evans said.
Volunteers also provided maintenance at: the Aiken Churches Together Serving office, Child Advocacy Center, Children's Place, the Cumbee Center to Assist Abused Persons, Community Medical Clinic of Aiken, the Golden Harvest Food Bank and several other organizations.
Outreach also spread to North Augusta and New Ellenton where workers made renovations to the cites' Tri-Development Centers.
At Aiken's center located on Laurens Street, SRNS employees worked outside where a tall tree used to rest. Last year's ice storm ruined the tree; and after the center took it down, they reached out to Project VISION for assistance.
Michael Hall, the director of the center, said the volunteers are replacing the tree with a flower bed.
"These guys have come out from SRS and have done a wonderful job," he said. "They've planted an assortment of plants, have beautified the front of the house, and its just a great moment for us."
Project VISION was first established in 1996. By 1999, the "Days of Caring" had garnered enough support to expand and include home repairs for low-income owner-occupants.
In 2008, Project VISION became a full-fledged program and now receives an annual allocation.
Tammy Davis, director of Project VISION, added, "It means so much to our organizations, especially the ones who don't have their own maintenance groups. We were so happy to have the volunteers from SRS come out and support our efforts."
Derrek Asberry is the SRS beat reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the paper since June 2013. He is originally from Vidalia, Ga., and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Follow him on Twitter @DerrekAsberry.