Almost 100 volunteers donned hard hats and got to work community building - one fence post at a time. Friday was the 20th annual United Way of Alberta Engineering Day of Caring. The annual event invites workers from engineering and construction firms to help local non-profits. This year, folks from 19 companies spend the day working at the Terra Centre, a non-profit that supports teen parents with income and housing support, family programming and High School completion. Hannah Gott was a teen parent at the Terra Centre and said she was eager to return as a volunteer with her mom, Nicole Spence, who works at an engineering firm. Gott said it was “heartwarming” to be back and give back to the agency that helped her navigate being a young parent. “I graduated in 2012. My son was one year old. And because of them, I was accepted to two universities,” Gott said. “They care so much and this means so much to them, which means so much to me.” “It helped her grow as a person, as a parent, helped her family succeed,” Spence said. “Not only her but helping with her son’s father and just building that dynamic, that relationship, and supporting the whole family.” Volunteers worked on projects including replacing the fence, building a stage and an outdoor sensory station, as well as expanding the playground and improving the play structure. While Gott was a first-time volunteer, an organizer said many people have been coming for more than a decade. “Those that have been doing this for 15, 20 years, they’re mentoring those people that this is their first year,” said Tanya Kloos, a chairperson on the Engineering Day of Caring Committee. “Our hope is that those people that this is their first year, that they will continue to coming back year after year.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum
