Newspaper Page Text
Make A Difference Day
YOU HELPED'
More than 3 million people A
reached out to others 4
on USA WEEKEND'S jfl
annual day of volunteering.
BY PATRICIA KIME
FOR THE 17TH TIME, vol
unteers nationwide ral
lied into action on
Make A Difference
Day. Thousands of efforts
carried out by 3 million peo
ple improved communities and
changed lives on Oct. 27.
in Washington, D.C., more
than 400 volunteers from
USA WEEKEND, Points of
Light & Hands On Network,
the District of Columbia Pub
lic Library, the Corporation
for National and Community
Service, Serve DC and First
Book rolled up their sleeves
at the historic Martin Luther
King Jr. Memorial Library.
Volunteers cataloged out
dated books to make room for
new’ editions. They also boxed used books for recycling
or sale and gave new books to neighborhood children.
“Every year, Serve DC organizes hundreds of resi
dents to volunteer for Make A Difference Day,” said
Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty, who visited with
volunteers. “Not only is it a great way to spend time
with family, Mends and neighbors, it’s a lot of fun!”
First Book advisory boards in 78 other cities were also
busy distributing 200,000 books to disadvantaged kids.
Across the Mid-Atlantic region, Wegmans, Whole
Foods and Shopßite supermarkets raised awareness
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WHAT'S NEXT: We're reviewing the good deeds and narrowing the search
for 10 National Make A Difference Day Awards. The favorite charities of each
of the 10 winners will receive a SIO,OOO donation from Paul Newman and
Newman's Own Foundation. Awards will be announced in USA WEEKEND
in April. The next Make A Difference Day is Saturday, Oct. 25,2008.
30
USA WEEKEND • Nov. 30-Dec. 2,2007
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A Las Vegas Nikki Berti with
* * Phine'la Deßrady, 5, one of the 1,500
kids who received new shoes from Berti's
Goodie Two Shoes effort, founded five
years ago on Make A Difference Day.
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of celiac disease by
distributing brochures.
Dietitians were also
on hand at 25 of Weg
mans’ 71 stores.
Coast to coast, vol
unteers braved rainy weather, the aftermath of wild
fires. floods and cooling temperatures to lend a hand.
In Great Britain, where Make A Difference Day is
now a phenomenon, tens of thousands of volunteers
mobilized to help others.
©Washington, D.C.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty shares
a moment with young volunteers at the
city's historic Martin Luther King Jr.
Memorial Library. They were
Bk among more than 400 people
3§ § helping out
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/\ Savannah, Ga. Girl scouts from
M w 22 counties in Georgia and two in
South Carolina culminated a month-long
food drive for America's Second Harvest. The
Savannah Morning News led the effort that
netted more than half a ton of food.
SUSA
WEEKEND
POINTS OF LIGHT
HANDS ON NETWORK
$1 million by the end of the year for
charity through a website: theworlds
biggestblogpai-ty.com.
Two contestants in the 2008 Miss
f \ America Pageant also were among
|A the millions who volunteered on
| Make A Difference Day.
ence Week” to raise funds for last;
summer’s flood victims in Putnam j
County and to recognize the volun-;
teers who helped.
Many of the 75,000 members of
AmeriCorps, the national sen-ice pro
gram, w-ere out in force, too. Among
them: Sherry Gullicksen, who, along
with 300 volunteers and 35 local businesses, renovated 1
a home for a family facing a medical emergency in Al
exandria, Ohio.
In New York, J.T. Robertson, 11, and his buddy Josh
Tsujimoto, 7, collected 29,921 cans for deposit along with
enough donations to take 422 passengers mostly dis
advantaged or disabled kids on a 90-minute ride on
the historic Arcade & Attica railway.
“I do this because it shows other kids how much they
can do,” says Robertson, a 2007 National Honoree who
used his award to create a grant program to encour
age children’s volunteer efforts. C 3
Back in the USA, in
spirational speaker Tim
Richardson kicked off his
“World’s Biggest Blog
Party” with a 24-hour
event at Capitol Coffee in
Maryville, Tenn. Richard
son’s goal was to moti
vate 1,000 bloggers to raise
Miss lowa Diana Reed held
a fundraising tailgate party
at the University of lowa-
Michigan State football game
in lowa City. She twirled a
flaming baton and sold brat
wurst during breaks. All
proceeds went to the Chil
dren’s Miracle Netw-ork. In
St. Paul, Miss Minnesota Jen
nifer Ann Hudspeth helped
kids pick out coats at the Sal
vation Army store.
In Ohio, the Lima News
spearheaded “Make A Differ-
s rWHEN MORTON; LAS VEGAS: AUDREY DEMPSEY OF INFINITY PHOTO
WASHINGTON, D.C SARAH CLAXTON FOR USA WEEKEND, SAVANNAH. GA