At our annual Day of Caring celebration last week, hosted this year by The Center at Belvedere, a woman visiting The Center walked into the ballroom where everyone was dancing to live music, socializing, and playing games.

"Is this JABA?" she asked. "I can't believe how much fun everyone is having."

Indeed, our annual Day of Caring event, which brings members from our Community Centers across six counties together, is always a high-energy affair,  and our colorful "Cruisin' the Caribbean" themed celebration this year did not disappoint.

“It made my day. I live alone and sometimes it gets kind of lonesome and stuff, and coming to something like this makes my day for me,” Cathy Musselman, a 92-year-old member at Mary Williams Community Center, told CBS19.

Watch the wonderful report featuring Cathy here:

“This day just brings so much joy, and for many of our seniors, there’s not a lot of joy in their lives. They’re struggling to make ends meet, and some of their friends aren’t around or their families moved away," Marta Keane, our CEO, told CBS19. "To have a day like this and days that are joyful really changes their health — their cognitive, emotional, and physical health — to not be isolated.”

For over three decades now, United Way has sponsored this community-wide day of service, which brings volunteers together to help non-profits across the area.

“This day actually calculates to be at about a $300,000 investment in time and resources back to our community,” United Way President & CEO Ravi Respeto told NBC29.

This year, volunteers from Sentara Health System helped us with our Day of Caring celebration. And they were fabulous!

"We couldn’t have done it without the volunteers from Sentara. They seemed to have as much fun as the center members," said Keane.

Back at JABA's offices, a group from the University of Virginia's Department of Systems & Information Engineering was joyfully helping our Philanthropy department with admin support for the day. Indeed, JABA staff could hear their laughter down the hallway! From left to right: Dorothy Gardner, Addie Mall, Chantel Gross, and Marty Qian.

The woman who wandered into the room at The Center definitely left with a different impression of JABA, struck by the vibrancy and joy in the room.

"Our Day of Caring celebration was a wonderful reminder that it’s important to have fun. To find the things that bring us joy, “ says Keane. “To take a moment to stop and appreciate something we sense that makes us smile. By having fun, we replenish our energy and that gives us room to have compassion for others."