From ripping out thick swaths of overgrowth in Riverfront Park to inventorying library material, the forces of United Way volunteers’ efforts Friday for the inaugural Volunteer Day will have a lasting impact.   

Clad in yellow, red and blue T-shirts volunteers could be spotted from the Main Street bridge working along the bank of the St. Joseph River or in between the shelves at the Niles District Library.

To accomplish a day of volunteering, United Way of Southwest Michigan, which serves Berrien and Cass counties, shut down its office Friday so that 20 employees could spend the day bettering the Niles community.

In Riverfront Park, benches along the trail are positioned so that park users can take in the view of the water, but without the help of volunteers of Friday, Park Board member Larry Pickles said Sassafras trees and thick weeds would have continued to obstruct the water and picturesque fall colors on the other side of the river.

With saws, rope and a whole lot of upper body strength, volunteers cleared out the area from the boat dock on the south side of the river to the skate park on the north side.

“This group that United Way brought down here did a phenomenal job,” Pickles said. “I’m a happy camper. It is a much-needed thing.”

Because the Park Board has a minimal budget year-round, Pickles said it can be difficult to find the resources to keep the bank clear of weeds.

Dawn Howley, of Stevensville, was among the United Way employees ridding the riverbank of weeds Friday.

“This is my favorite park,” Howley said. “I used to come here all the time when I was a kid. It’s so beautiful.”

After pulling up the weeds and trees along the bank, volunteers formed a pile that Pickles then hauled off to Owen’s Lawn Care, that helped to dispose of the overgrowth debris.

Event organizer Douglas Ferral contacted the city of Niles and the Niles District Library for some volunteer project suggestions. With the nonprofit’s goal to form a coalition with charitable organizations pooling resources to help whole communities, Ferral said it can be nice to zero in on one project for a day that still has the ability to have a big impact. By 11 a.m. the view of the river and the reds, golds and oranges of the fall leaves of trees on the other side of the St. Joseph River could be seen.

“Who would have thought there was a river behind all that?” Ferral said.

From the inside the Niles District Library, United Way of Southwestern Michigan President Anna Murphy helped volunteers inventory hundreds of CDs and DVDs. Holding clipboards and pens, about five volunteers carefully logged the items on each shelf.

For Murphy, the inaugural event was a way for employees to give back during a busy fundraising campaign season, which runs from July to January.

Getting out into the community and serving was a good way to further the connection between the communities they serve, Murphy said.

In the future, Murphy said she could see Volunteer Day becoming a regular event that could happen yearly or even quarterly.

“This is an opportunity to make sure we are still connecting with the work we do,” Murphy said. “It is an opportunity for us to reset and have clear idea of why we do what we do. It keeps us grounded.”