The 2026 Welcoming Week continues. It actually continues all the way through the month of September. One of the new events in this year's Welcoming Week is Saturday's day of service. It's coordinated through Good Works, the new regional volunteer center that is a joint project between the Jones Center and Walmart. Jill Suel, director of marketing and communications at the Jones Center, says Saturday's day of service will match volunteers with more than a dozen area nonprofits.
Suel: Fourteen different nonprofit partners around the region who have all planned a volunteer project. So it's a contained project that people can go to, like physically go to a location and do and give a couple of hours of their time. And so there will be things happening all around.
And we hope to have several hundred people participate, but at each location, you won't see that many, you'll see 20 people and you'll be working on a specific project for a specific nonprofit.
Kellams: It's on Saturday, Sept. 12. What does a person have to do to participate?
Suel: It very simple. You just need to check out our website and it has the description about what the event is. The main reason you need to check is if you want to bring your family and you need to check age ranges, because some of the projects welcome families of all ages, some have some age restrictions, some are for adults only.
So that's the only real legwork you have to do in advance is kind of figure out if the age group is appropriate for you and then just show up and participate. And like I said, it's only a couple of hours of your time and you'll get to help us make a big impact in the community.
Kellams: Give us an idea of some of the more than dozen agencies that are working with you.
Suel: Yeah. In Bentonville, we have Crystal Bridges and people can get out there and help on the trails, doing some cleanup and invasive plants and other things that they need to help maintain on their very large campus. So that's one.
In Springdale, there's the Family Network, which does a Diaper Collective and they can help package diapers and things for families with infants and babies who need that service. Let's see what else we've got. We've got several different ones that involve kind of thrift stores and helping them sort donations. And that's great for those different organizations who use the funds from their thrift stores to fund their mission. Oh, and a couple of food pantry options.
Kellams: Do you think there's a chance that some people might be volunteering with an organization they've never volunteered with before, perhaps haven't heard of until they look at the website and they might like it and volunteer again and more?
Suel: Yes, absolutely. That's what this is. This is planned for to introduce people to a variety of options where they can get involved with a new nonprofit or maybe one that they volunteered for before. So I'm sure that the organizations are hoping to kind of have a mix of familiar faces and new faces.
And yes, if you get involved with them and want to keep volunteering, great. Because they will certainly be able to use those services, but I think it's also an opportunity for people to try something new. One time service is great. There's no reason to feel like you're going to make a big commitment to something. And I think that's also the beauty of it.
Kellams: This is the first year, I think, for this day of service, right? As part of Welcoming Week.
Suel: Yes.
Kellams: It could be one of those things that becomes an annual event. It could grow in size?
Suel: Yes. This is the first program that we're introducing as part of Good Works. And we're going to, yes, continue to learn more about what our community needs and introduce more programs. But we do intend for this to be something that is one of the key staples.
And I think we'll plan to do it twice a year is the goal. So we can have this opportunity for lots of nonprofits and lots of service all on one day. It just really feel that impact in a different way. And then of course, there's lots of ongoing service that will happen throughout the year, but this is just a benchmark day to really have everyone kind of feel the love and see that impact in a larger way.
Kellams: And again, if someone hasn't volunteered, maybe in a long time, hasn't volunteered with this particular organization, that's part of it, right? You don't have to have experience with the organization or with the task itself.
Suel: Correct. Yes. That is it. It's designed to be. Yeah. A project that you can get there and get it done.
And really, part of the whole day will be the organization kind of introducing you to the services that they provide to the community, and then giving you background or deeper knowledge of how you're helping, exactly how this project is helping them. And so I think that's really great for people to just be able to see, not only will you do work physically and help, but you'll also learn a little bit more about how these groups are serving our neighbors.
Kellams: And where can people find out more, including the organizations and what they are going to be doing on Saturday?
Suel: Yes, it is on the Jones Center's website. So the exact URL is thejonescenter.org/goodworks/service. And you can go there. You can also just go to thejonescenter.org and search for Good Works day of service. And there is all of the information and the form that you need to fill out right there.
Jill Suel is director of marketing and communications at the Jones Center. The day of service, in conjunction with the 2026 edition of Welcoming Week, is this Saturday. More information at thejonescenter.org.
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