Staff report

The Suffolk United Way will kick off its annual fundraising campaign on Thursday, starting at 8 a.m. at the Seaboard Station Railroad Museum on Main Street.

This year’s festivities will coincide with United Way’s region wide annual Day of Caring project, with more than 200 volunteers working in Suffolk at 13 human service project sites.

Leading the Suffolk volunteers will be Mayor E. Dana Dickens and his &uot;all star team&uot; painting the newly remodeled Children’s Center on Wilroy Road. In addition to this project, other locations throughout the city will include The Salvation Army, the YMCA, the Hampton Roads Youth Center, Places and Programs for Children, the home of one of Edmarc Hospice’s clients, Sleepy Hole Park, Elephant’s Fork Elementary, King’s Fork Middle School, Nansemond Park Elementary School, Oakland Elementary School, Robertson Elementary School and Turlington Woods School.

John G. Sebrell of First Virginia Bank is the 2003 Suffolk Campaign Chairman. Kenda Goldberg Council of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy is the Chair-Elect for 2004. Other members of the Suffolk United Way Cabinet include: Win Winslow, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Chair-Elect 2005; Bethanne D. Bradshaw, Suffolk Public Schools; Kaye Davenport, City of Suffolk; Martha McClees, City of Suffolk; Jennifer J. Ambrose, Farmers Bank; Diane Johnson, BB&T; Chris Pond, Griffin Oil and Propane; Dorothy M. Jenson, Edmarc Hospice for Children; Blake Baker, R.W. Baker & Co. Funeral Home; Eley Duke, Duke Automotive; Wendell Waller, Suffolk Public Schools; Kandy Lewis, Denison’s; Diane Eaves, BB&T; Jack Nurney Jr., J. Walter Hosier & Sons;

and Dr. Jeffrey Persons, Orthopedic Surgery Centers.

After a hard day’s work Thursday, volunteers are invited to join the South Hampton Roads regional volunteers – a group of 2,000 plus – for a Day of Caring picnic at Norfolk Botanical Gardens from 5 – 7 p.m. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 539-1498 ext. 147.