With a rake in her gloved hands and her hair dampened by the rain falling on a chilly November morning, Becky Perez went about the tedious task of removing leaves from a small lawn in the 400 block of South 5th Street Thursday in Niles.

There was no sign that the miserable weather was affecting Perez as she stopped to chat about her participation in the United Way of Southwest Michigan’s fourth annual Day of Action for Seniors.

“I love doing things to help people in this area,” said the SMEGA employee, who was graciously given a paid “day off” to help with the Day of Action. “This is really important because there are a lot of seniors around here and we need to pay it forward and help them out.”

Perez was one of more than 530 volunteers who helped area seniors prepare for the coming winter by raking leaves, cleaning gutters and winterizing homes in Berrien and Cass counties.

Doug Ferrall, marketing and communications director for UWSM, said the previous record for volunteer participation was 450.

“It really is a feel-good event,” Ferrall said. “A lot of the people that do this keep coming back every year because it is a hands-on activity and you can see the results right away.”

More than 150 seniors benefited from the program.

“The need isn’t going away,” Ferrall said. “We have a community that has a lot of aging folks. It is dangerous for them to get out and do the work themselves. A lot of them can’t afford to have it done either, so that’s why we need to help.”

Perez was volunteering with the Four Flags Area Chamber of Commerce team, which included Chamber President/CEO Tyanna Weller, Rich Mills, of Kemner-Iott; Jim Matthews, chamber membership coordinator; and Deb Sanderson, of Nerium.