SRNS employees took time to help their neighbors in the community
during the United Way of Aiken’s 29th annual Day of Caring from Project VISION (Volunteers in Service
in Our Neighborhoods).
On March 21, approximately 300 volunteers between Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Savannah
River Mission Completion, Battelle Savannah River Alliance and Savannah River National Laboratory
employees traveled across Aiken to assist at 20 different worksites. 140 of those volunteers were from
SRNS. Fifteen worksites were agencies partnered with the United Way of Aiken County and five were
residential houses, whose owners partnered with Project VISION for needed repairs and/or handicap
accommodations.
Work at partner agencies included landscaping, interior and exterior painting, pressure washing, moving
an agency to a new location and much more. The repairs provided to the agencies assist them in saving
money and time, which they can then redistribute to their community missions.
These partner agencies included:
• Girl Scouts of South Carolina: Mountains to the Midlands
• ACTS of Aiken and Graniteville
• North Augusta YMCA
• Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County
• Tri-Development Center (multiple locations)
• Helping Hands
• The Salvation Army (multiple locations)
At Project VISION residential houses, volunteers participated in yard work, demolition, building
wheelchair ramps and repairing gutters. This work took place across Aiken County in the Monetta,
Wagener, Trenton, Beech Island and North Augusta areas.
Mike Swain visited a volunteer-site staffed by Environmental Operations Management employees, who
were building a 41-foot wheelchair ramp for a neighbor in need.
“Our employees have big hearts,” said Mike Swain, Executive Vice President and EM Chief Operations
Officer. “Project Vision is such a great program to participate in, because not only do volunteers get the
benefit of helping others and their community, they get a chance to bond with their teams. There is plenty
of laughter, teamwork and community building on display at these sites.”
Jim Dawkins, Executive Vice President of NNSA Missions, visited the Helping Hands facility and local
Girl Scout Hut where he greeted and thanked each employee for coming out to volunteer. A group of
Information Technology (IT) professionals were at the Girl Scout Hut led by IT’s Tim Arnold and Tammy
Pruitt. The volunteers focused on beautifying: staining ramps, installing exterior lights, and planting
flowers.
“It’s important to give back to the community,” said Arnold. “We’re very blessed at the Site and we should
help our community out. Working for SRNS is great, we have so many outreach opportunities.”
Since 1996, Project VISION has assisted partners of the Aiken County United Way in facility upkeep. A
notable change this year, the Director of Project VISION, Lizzie Abshire mentioned, were multiple first-
time leaders at various worksites. Many new volunteers stepped forward and wanted to dedicate their
skills to the project.
“The Day of Caring is only possible through the support from employees at SRS,” said Abshire “These
employees see the need to help those in our community and see the value in extending a helping hand.
These repairs help save agencies hundreds and give hope to elderly and disabled homeowners!”
For more on United Way’s Project VISION and how to volunteer, visit https://www.uwaiken.org/project-
vision.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor and HII partnership company, is responsible for the
management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, located near Aiken,
South Carolina.