If the wealth of a community can be measured in the spirit of its residents to care for others, then Vicksburg is indeed very rich.

Our city has many civic organizations that are known for working on projects to better our community.

But Thursday, on a wet, rainy, cold morning when they could have just as easily backed out of their commitment to help out, about 200 people turned out at the Vicksburg Mall parking lot and joined together to make United Way of West Central Mississippi’s annual Day of Caring, a day set aside for others to help the agencies served by the local United Way, a success.

It was a mixed group that stood in the early morning drizzle to get their marching orders. Some were members of corporate teams who were given the day off by their companies to go out and do something good for the community. Others were individuals who were either retired or took personal leave from their jobs to get out and help make their community better.

Some volunteers worked inside with clerical chores, others provided needed labor to paint or fix up an area of a building and others endured the rain and cold to do lawn work the people managing a particular agency were unable to do themselves. One group of volunteers said they would come back on another day and on their own time if they were unable to do the job for which they were originally tasked.

And the reward for their efforts? Something money can’t buy; the inner feeling one has for doing something good, something that makes a difference and helps the staff of an agency do its job to benefit others better because it has a little help.

Part of the impact of Day of Caring, organizers say, is the teambuilding that comes from friends and co-workers working together to get a task accomplished. But the impact is more than that. It’s the feeling of community and family that brings people in the city together and can make a lasting impact on someone else.

All it takes is for one good act to inspire someone to get out and do something that will help someone less fortunate than themselves, or maybe just do something courteous, like just open a door, that will help someone overcome a problem.

The people who put on their fluorescent green T-shirts Thursday, met at the Vicksburg Mall and then went out and did the chores, whether it was to reduce somebody’s work load or just help make their day, are to be commended.

They are to be commended for their efforts, for their caring and their desire to make Vicksburg a better place. To make it more than a community, to make it a family, and their efforts should be emulated, not only by other adults, but also by children.

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. summed up their efforts with this comment, “Our volunteers today are the true examples of both giving and living united in our community.”