United Way's annual Day of Caring, set for Friday, takes on a new focus this year with projects aimed at helping children succeed. It's part of a larger United Way initiative that seeks to target resources where they will pay long-term dividends.

"We've been doing Day of Caring for 16 years, sending volunteers for all sorts of projects to homes, churches and neighborhoods," said Jamie Garwood, United Way's community planning and policy manager. "We decided to really focus it on an issue, and so much of (the need) is about kids and poverty. There are a lot of things we need to address to make sure kids are successful."

The community work sites include 20 Fort Wayne Community Schools elementary buildings, the Boys and Girls Club, Gingerbread House and Whittington Homes. Teams of General Electric employees, for example, will work at Fairfield and South Wayne elementary schools, where the company has donated all of the materials for projects that include painting and landscaping. In addition, GE employees are buying more than $3,000 worth of books for the two schools.

Garwood said she expects to have more than 1,300 volunteers working on Friday - up from less than 700 last year. She said she's also hopeful that many who can't contribute at a work site might contribute to the effort with donations for books or school supplies.

The work that will be done at the sites, including the schools, is work that will free up educators and service providers to focus on children. Garwood said she also believes the work will send a message to children and to the people who work with them that the community cares about their success.

The residential work sites United Way has assisted in recent years aren't being overlooked. The agency has made an effort to link homeowners needing assistance with Neighborlink, a not-for-profit organization that is working year-round to put residents in touch with home-repair volunteers.

Day of Caring has traditionally been the start of the annual fundraising campaign. This year, however, its purpose is to kick off a different approach to community problem-solving. Targeting the needs of the community's children is a wise decision.

Fighting crime

The National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday is designed for citizens to display unity in their perseverance against crime, and participation can be as simple as turning on your porch light. Some communities recognize the night with cookouts and get-togethers, many offering opportunities for citizens to meet with police and other public safety officers.

Both the Southwest Area Partnership and Northside Neighborhood Association in Fort Wayne will have events Tuesday in recognition of the 25th annual Night Out that feature games for kids, food and visits from public safety officers. (See "To attend" box.)

Deadline for brokers

Hundreds of Indiana mortgage brokers appear destined to lose their state licenses Tuesday for failing to take and pass a state-certified exam established in 2007.

The law requires that Indiana mortgage brokerage companies have a principal manager with at least three years of experience who has passed the exam. The law set a July 1 deadline, but Secretary of State Todd Rokita - whose office regulates many aspects of corporations and other businesses - gave the brokers until Tuesday to notify the state of the designated principal manager. About two-thirds of the nearly 1,000 mortgage brokerage companies did not meet the July 1 deadline.

The law is a reasonable and measured attempt to make sure that mortgage brokers are aware of the law and rules regarding mortgages - something consumers should be able to expect. Given today's housing market, many of those brokers who don't know the rules have likely stopped doing business.

Rokita has rightly vowed to put any mortgage broker firms that do not meet the law by Tuesday out of business.

County Council

This week's council meeting will be a technical review of accounting procedures - something council members should be aware of but one not likely to directly affect their constituents. The council will learn of new national accounting standards that require the county to list on its books the future obligations of providing post-employment benefits to its workers.

The more interesting council meeting comes Aug. 12, when the council will vote on a $25 million bond to finance the Maplecrest Road project.

The City Council, meanwhile, will likely postpone Tuesday's scheduled discussion on its own $30 million bond for street paving and repair work.