Will You Make A Difference?

Saturday, October 27th, is Make A Difference Day.
What is Make A Difference Day? you ask. Well, it's a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. And everyone can participate.
Created by USA WEEKEND Magazine, Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. In 2005, 3 million people cared enough about their communities to volunteer on that day, accomplishing thousands of projects in hundreds of towns.
Who takes part in Make A Difference Day? you ask. Anyone! Young and old, individuals and groups, anyone can carry out a volunteer project that helps others. It might be as ambitious as collecting truckloads of clothing for the homeless, or as personal as spending an afternoon helping an elderly neighbor or relative. Your project can be as large or as small as you wish! Look around your community and see what needs to be done.
If you're reading this blog, that means you have access to a computer. If you'll go to http://usaweekend.com/diffday/aboutmadd.html you'll find all the information you need to participate. And you'll find that each year in April, hundreds of good deeds done on Make A Difference Day are selected for honors, headlines and charitable donations.
What are the rules to participate in the Make A Difference Day event? you ask. If you want to participate, just help someone else on Saturday, October 27th. If you can't participate on Saturday for religious reasons, you may do your project on Sunday. If you volunteer regularly, great! On Make A Difference Day, expand your volunteering by creating a special event for those you help. If you don't volunteer now, here's an occasion for you to get started. Clean an elderly neighbor's house, read a book to someone, visit institutionalized kids or the elderly. Join in someone else's project. Help at the community soup kitchen or food bank, help paint a house or clean a yard. Get a group of your friends together to hand-deliver food to homeless people or a shelter. Take first graders who don't have a library card to the library to get one.
If you participate but don't send in an entry form, you can't be considered for the awards and can't be counted among the millions of people who simultaneously reach out to help others. So, go to the above website and click on Entry Form and sign up.
What are you going to do for Make A Difference Day? you ask. Well, I'm volunteering to take care of any of my neighbors cats while they are out of town for the holidays, or if they need to go to the hospital, or if they just want a weekend away from them. And I'm going to continue to check on my 82-year-old neighbor, invite her to eat out or to lunch at my place, or just sit on the porch and talk with her. That way my Make A Difference Day will last all year! Make a difference on Saturday the 27th and stretch it into all year. It'll warm your heart! (Source: Make A Difference Day website)