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Regional
honorees: Make A Difference Day Awards, April 2001
Are
your neighbors listed among thse special awards for helping others
Oct. 28, 2000?
Nebraska
$2,000 state awards
Lincoln. The way Diane Podolske sees it, kindness and giving are passed on from individual to individual. That's why she decided to base this year's University of Nebraska-AmeriCorps Make A Difference Day project on random acts of kindness. Volunteers went into schools asking youngsters to lend a hand by doing something good for someone. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Lincoln Action Program, Inc., 210 O Street, Lincoln NE 68508
Omaha. In a nationwide effort, Woodmen of the World/Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society chapters in 8 states enlisted young people to clean up their towns. In Omaha, 2,000 volunteers worked with Woodmen of the World, the United Way of Midlands, Keep Omaha Beautiful, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Burger King to clean roadsides. This was the second time the Woodmen have organized a major cleanup effort for Make A Difference Day. In 1999, they had 700 volunteers. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Woodmen of the World, 1700 Farnam Street, Omaha NE 68102
Newspaper awards
Beatrice Daily Sun. 10 members of the Wilber Rotary grilled hamburgers for 80 residents of the Wilber Care Center and served the burgers with corn-and-macaroni casserole, Jell-O salads and a choice of 3 cakes.
Fremont Tribune. The Junior League of Omaha sponsored a "baby shower" for 75 pregnant women and new mothers enrolled in a child-nutrition program. In addition to receiving a gift bag containing a bib, a bottle, toiletries and brochures on health and parenting topics, the women played games to earn raffle tickets for a chance to win car seats, strollers, a crib with linens, child-care books and baby monitors.
Lincoln Journal Star. The Frank H. Woods Telephone Pioneer Association used a $500 Wal-Mart grant and donations from businesses to entertain physically or mentally challenged children at a Halloween party featuring a "cave" full of bats and spiders, lots of treats and performances by clowns, cloggers and a dance troupe of disabled children.
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Nevada
$2,000 state awards
Henderson. 700 James Gibson Elementary School pupils held a clothing and food drive. But rather than conduct an ordinary collection, they decided to generate interest by promoting it as art. With 25,000 articles of clothing they collected, they created a 2-acre collage, inspired by crop artist Stan Herd's work, featuring a 100-foot child with a big red heart on his shirt. The collage was visible for miles from the air. In a nod to Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup art, the kids also collected 594 cans and arranged them to spell "GIBSON." The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits James I. Gibson Elementary School, 271 Leisure Circle, Henderson NV 89014
Sparks. When Corrine Coyne was 5, she was riding home from her grandmother's house in Sparks with her mother and sister when their car was struck head-on by a drunken driver going the wrong way on the highway. Corrine has been in a wheelchair ever since, paralyzed from the waist down. While the road to recovery and acceptance has been long, says mom Lolita Asay, Make A Difference Day was a major step for Corrine. She decided to raise money for spinal cord injury research. Embarking on a 1-day personal challenge, Corrine biked around the Sparks Marina twice on her hand-propelled bicycle. Businesses and individuals pledged more than $1,100, which Corrine gave to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, 500 Morris Avenue, Springfield NJ 07081
Newspaper awards
Las Vegas Review-Journal. 120 high school and middle school musicians performed pop, fiddle and classical orchestra music concerts for 48 long-term care residents at Boulder City Hospital, then served a meal.
Reno Gazette-Journal. 20 students at Bishop Manogue High School collected 45 bags (39-gallon capacity) of clothing and one barrel of personal- care items, plus $120 in cash, for homeless teens.
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New Hampshire
$2,000 state awards
Keene. 23 members of Fun 4-H of North Charlestown threaded their way through Make A Difference Day, sewing fleece hats, mittens, lap robes and caps for 5 help groups. Then they delivered the goods to a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, nursing home, women's center and cancer facility. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Claremont Soup Kitchen, Inc., PO Box 957, Claremont NH 3743
Nashua. 200 volunteers from the Parish of the Immaculate Conception tackled myriad projects, starting a few weeks before Oct. 28, soliciting donations of food, clothes and funds. Oct. 28, they delivered 500 pounds of food to pantries, performed yardwork, winterized a porch at a women's shelter, donated law and dentistry services to the needy and gave away new car seats, baby bottles and winter clothing. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Immaculate Conception, 216 East Dunstable Road, Nashua NH 03062
Newspaper awards
Concord Monitor. Downtown Concord Inc., a group of merchants, rallied 300 neighbors in a drive for money, personal items, food, clothes and blankets for the homeless. In all, $12,000 worth of "homeless-friendly" ready-to-eat foods were collected along with $6,000 in toothbrushes, combs, shampoo and grooming aids.
(Dover) Foster's Sunday Citizen. New Beginnings Crisis Center has a new look, thanks to the Belknap County Master Gardeners. Using largely donated items, the domestic abuse shelter was beautifully landscaped with hanging baskets, trees, flowers, shrubs and an herb garden. On Oct. 28, the Master Gardeners planted 400 bulbs.
(Nashua) Telegraph. Knights of Columbus Council 5162 of Hudson/Litchfield coordinated a food drive at middle and high schools, collecting 1,500 pounds of food and supplies for St. Vincent de Paul.
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New Jersey
$2,000 state awards
Atlantic City. 80 casino workers renovated a soup kitchen serving Atlantic City for 18 years. Jean's Kitchen, run by Jean Webster, 66, needed a major overhaul: The roof leaked, the ceilings and walls were water-damaged, and the carpet was threadbare. Webster, who has suffered 16 heart attacks and is awaiting heart valve replacement surgery, couldn't begin to tackle the work, so casino workers at Harrah's Atlantic City and Showboat Atlantic City repaired the ceiling and floor, patched the dining room roof, painted several rooms, cleaned and repaired chairs and tables, repaired and replaced moldings, replaced carpets and thoroughly cleaned every inch of the structure. The casinos also donated 40 winter coats, 172 bags of clothing and 10 bags of accessories, 16 bags of linens, 80 tablecloths and an 80-piece dinnerware set, plus food and pots and pans. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Friends of Jean Webster Inc., 1013 Pacific Avenue, Atlantic NJ NJ 08401
Maplewood. 30 clothing designers and seamstresses statewide made 100 satin-and-lace burial gowns for stillborn babies. The women, two-thirds of whom are members of the N.J. Professional Association of Custom Clothiers, gathered for an 8-hour sewing marathon at a bridal shop, toiling over 15 sewing machines and 2 cutting tables. About 50 caps and gowns were completed at the session; members who could not attend and a high school sewing club completed 50 more gowns. The project was led by a member who gave birth to a stillborn baby 30 years ago and also had a sister-in-law whose infant died. The items were given to the state chapter of Newborns in Need, which supplies hospitals and community agencies with baby items for premature and needy infants. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Morris Town Neighborhood House/Resource Center for Women, 12 Flagler Street/427 Homestead Rd., Morris Town/Hillsborough NJ 07960/08844
Newspaper awards
(Bridgewater) Courier News. Readington Township residents took part in the "Stuff-A-Bus" food drive. Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, local buinesses and organizations pitched in and collected more than 6,000 pounds of food. Donations were made to local food distribution agencies Starfish, Flemington Food Pantry and The Lord's Closet.
J.F. Brandt Middle School students collected $1,000, giving $850 to Shriners Children's Hospital and using the remaining $150 to buy hats, gloves and socks for the homeless of Hoboken.
(Cherry Hill) Courier-Post. Richard Gold, 16, of Congregation Beth El Synagogue organized 300 volunteers and the cooking of 700 kosher meals for the emergency Kosher Food Bank of Philadelphia, which delivers to shut-ins and the elderly.
(East Brunswick) Home News Tribune. Martin Luther King Elementary School students sponsored a computer recycling day, filling 4 cargo trucks with computers and monitors. The kids also took this opportunity to pass out recycling information to the public.
(Jersey City) Jersey Journal. 30 members of the Boards of Deacons and Deaconess of Monumental Baptist Church distributed breakfast, clothing and blankets to 150 needy people in Jersey City.
(Neptune) Asbury Park Press. For the second year, Clean Ocean Action organized a beach, river and stream cleanup day at New Jersey beaches. 2,215 volunteers removed 14 tons of garbage.
(Newton) New Jersey Sunday Herald. In honor of a former student who battled cancer, Vernon High School teacher Brian Cummins organized a Lids for Kids drive, collecting 632 new hats for cancer victims at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson.
(Parsippany) Daily Record. Medical Needs Foundation raised $90,000 in an Oct. 28 5K run. Funds help people with severe medical disabilities, including a girl who nearly drowned and now cannot speak. Her parents received money for a computer to help her communicate.
(Pleasantville) Press of Atlantic City. Amanda Feldman rallied friends, family, dentists and businesses to donate 5,000 items -- toiletries, socks, underwear and gloves -- which they sorted and delivered in laundry baskets to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission.
(Toms River) Ocean County Observer. 2 members of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary in Toms River visited the Manchester Manor Rehabilitation Center in Lakehurst, where they passed out Christmas ornaments, games and socks.
(Trenton) Trentonian. 2,000 volunteers planted 3,586 trees on public lands in 16 counties as part of the New Jersey Tree Foundation's statewide all-volunteer tree-planting project.
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New Mexico
$2,000 state awards
Carlsbad. 20 drama students at Carlsbad High School dramatized and videotaped children's stories to donate to a battered women's shelter. Devoting 20 hours of their free time before Make A Difference Day, the students, known as the Mummers, chose a selection to read and act out. Other Mummers helped edit and re-record the spots. On Oct. 28, adviser Mannie Bernis and 3 students took the tapes to the shelter, which serves 8 to 10 families at a time. There, they were placed in a video library to be shared by all children and their mothers. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Carlsbad High School, 3000 West Church Street, Carlsbad NM 88220
Las Cruces. The local Knights of Columbus chapter figured assembling furniture to raise money for a soup kitchen on Make A Difference Day would be a snap. But the 16 volunteers who showed up for the task had a rude awakening. "The instructions obviously were written by some alien from outer space," says organizer John Byers. The Knights toiled through the day, spending much of their time searching for missing parts and trying to make pieces fit together. By the end, they'd assembled 8 pieces of furniture, barely making a dent in their trailer-load of donated kits. But they pledged to meet each week until the job was done. Some of the furniture was donated to the soup kitchen; the rest will be sold to raise money for the facility. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits El Caldito Soup Kitchen, 909 W. Amador, Las Cruces NM 88004
Newspaper awards
Albuquerque Journal. 16-year-old Sarra Cherry collected 100 coats, sweaters and pairs of socks for "Teens in Transition," a program for homeless adolescents.
(Carlsbad) Current-Argus. Retirees, kids from 4 Artesia grade schools, Girl Scouts and parents collected 1,600 cans of food for the Red Cross and 2 societies that aid the poor.
(Farmington) Daily Times. 30 children paired with students from San Juan College to collect 400 pounds of food and enough toiletries to stock 2 homes for 2 months for the children at 2 domestic violence refuges.
Gallup Independent. 27 members of the Gallup High School National Honor Society and elementary school pupils spruced up a school playground and painted game lines on a blacktop.
Roswell Daily Record. 50 pianists -- all students of Laura Donovan -- played concerts at 3 senior homes. 75 residents attended and participated in the recitals, which were broadcast into bed-ridden residents' rooms.
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New York
$2,000 state awards
Rifton. 7 first-graders from Annemarie Keiderling's class at Woodcrest School threw a party for their favorite senior citizen, Larry Giustino, who lives at Golden Hills Health Care Center. The students had met Giustino, who is blind, last summer when they were volunteering at the home. They were fascinated by his ability to cope in a visual world, and they loved his slow, gravelly voice and the music he plays on an electronic keyboard. 3 weeks before Make A Difference Day, the students made a book for Giustino using felt, leather, lace, cotton balls and many other textured objects. They also practiced his favorite songs. On Oct. 28, they dressed in Halloween costumes and celebrated the day honoring Giustino. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits The Bruderhof Foundation, Route 213 PO Box 903, Rifton NY 12471
White Plains. March of Dimes, headquartered in White Plains, launched a nationwide effort to educate individuals about the availability of low-cost health insurance for children. "Insure Kids Now" coordinated 7,000 volunteers, teens to seniors, at 900 Kmart stores. A million brochures were distributed and thousands of uninsured families reached. Those who picked up information learned that many children can be insured for as little as $7.50 a month. Now, children like Lisa Ratliff's, who lost their insurance after their father was injured at work, are covered. "I wouldn't have been able to afford insurance without this program," she said of the state of Georgia's low-cost health insurance program, which she found out about Oct. 28 from a March of Dimes volunteer. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits March of Dimes, 1275 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains NY 10605
Newspaper awards
(Dunkirk) Observer. 350 Forestville Central School students raised $2,900 for medical causes through fund-raisers that included a read-a-thon, book and toy sales, penny collection, car wash and aluminum can drive. Students also raked leaves for elderly homeowners, entertained and distributed handmade items at nursing homes, and collected canned goods and toiletries for agencies.
(Elmira) Star-Gazette. For its fifth effort, the Schuyler Housing Opportunity Council focused on home repair in Dix and Montour. Working at 13 sites, 80 volunteers, ages 8-80, built a wheelchair-accessible ramp; replaced skirting on 2 trailers; repaired 3 roofs; repaired or replaced windows, doors and screens on 8 homes and steps and railings at 2 homes; raked leaves at 5 homes; and weatherized 10.
(Glens Falls) Post-Star. 23 students from Stuart M. Townsend Middle School in Lake Luzerne, with the help of 15 adults, stitched 41 totes for foster children in Warren and Saratoga counties. A $500 Wal-Mart grant paid for fabric and the toiletries and trinkets, like key chains and stuffed animals, included with the totes. Sixth-graders taking a class that covered anger management added homemade "stress busters" -- balloons filled with flour -- for the totes.
Ithaca Journal. Reachout 2000, a group started by parents who wanted to teach their children the value of giving back, completed distribution of 2,000 medical kits worth $24,000 to agencies serving needy families in Tompkins County. The 10-month project involved 200 volunteers -- mostly children -- who solicited donations, packaged items such as thermometers, adhesive strips and antibiotic creams, then distributed the kits. It was financed in part through money raised at the previous year's Make A Difference Day carnival.
(Jamestown) Post-Journal. 495 Bemus Point Elementary School students collected 4 minivan loads of kitchen and housekeeping supplies, plus toys, clothes, books and school gear for the Agnes Home, a domestic violence shelter, continuing a relationship begun the year before for Make A Difference Day.
(Kingston) Daily Freeman. The Ulster County Food Pantry Consortium coordinated its second Make A Difference Day drive, collecting tens of thousands of personal-care items at businesses and 20 participating pantries. The goods will supply the busiest pantry for 6 months; the others for 8 months.
New York Daily News. Members of RAZE, a pop/dance group, joined 15 teenagers at the MAD (Make a Difference) House on West 44th Street to paint a 32-by-22-foot room to be used by participants in tutoring and mentoring programs for underprivileged youth. The 9-to-5 painting binge was followed by a concert and rap session.
(Niagara Falls) Niagara Gazette. 100 volunteers from the West Seneca Youth Bureau and AmeriCorps programs, ages teen to 75, spruced up an old Buffalo movie theater housing an after-school program for immigrant children. Volunteers removed old furniture and rain-soaked clothing from the lobby; cleared 5 dump-truck loads of alley trash and interior debris; painted parts of the interior; arranged 65 student desks in the new classrooms, and distributed soccer balls for sports programs.
Olean Times Herald. In honor of an aunt who had died of metastatic melanoma (a type of skin cancer) during the summer, eighth-grader Jared Warner organized an auction and barbecue dinner that raised $5,000 for the Wings of Love Foundation, which offers cancer patients emotional support as well as financial help with wigs, breast supports and special health aides. 50 volunteers -- family members, friends, members of the Portville Central School Student Council and Wings of Love founder Bonnie Moses -- helped at the 9-hour fund-raiser.
Poughkeepsie Journal. For the second year, Mahopac High School varsity athletes conducted a basketball clinic for emotionally and developmentally disabled children from Green Chimneys Residential Facility in Brewster. The 20 teenagers gave each of the 40 participants a basketball, a T-shirt and a trophy at the conclusion of the 4-hour clinic.
(Rochester) Democrat and Chronicle. In addition to their usual bulb-planting as part of Rochester Blossoms! on Make A Difference Day, School No. 36 pupils donated 40 boxes of canned food to Togetherness in Love Community. The month-long drive, led by Michelle Sutton's third-graders, featured a daily drawing for inexpensive toys.
(Saratoga Springs) Saratogian. Inspired by his success raising $100 last year, Davey Kelly, 12, rallied 12 school and church friends to collect money outside 3 stores, raising $750 for the Saratoga Center for the Family, 4 times the size of the center's typical non-corporate donation.
(Schenectady) Daily Gazette. 700 members of Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany helped with 47 Mitzvah Day projects on Oct. 29. Among the results: 2,000 meatballs for the needy and sick; 62 bags of raked leaves, 1,000 tulip bulbs at schools, and $707 for the American Diabetes Association. Other projects included Hanukkah packages for Jewish military personnel overseas, a puppet show and party for children of cancer patients, and collections of food, clothing and books for agencies.
(Troy) Sunday Record. Led by teens determined to improve conditions at the low-income housing project where they live, 50 volunteers from the John P. Taylor Apartments and the Troy Housing Authority raked leaves, landscaped and cleaned the complex grounds. The cleanup was a follow-up to another teen-led effort: graffiti removal and mural painting at nearby basketball courts.
(Utica) Observer-Dispatch. 30 Lockheed Martin employees in New Hartford culminated 2 months and $1,500 in fund-raising -- bake sales, silent auctions, a percentage of sales from a housewares party -- by cleaning the playground at Thea Bowman House, a non-profit, culturally diverse day-care center. The employees also set up a computer network for the daycare.
(Vestal) Press & Sun-Bulletin. Members of St. James Catholic Church in Johnson City removed yard debris and prepared to replace the back porch at a home owned by struggling Eritrean refugees. The project was the first tackled by the Helping Hands Ministry, established in the wake of Make A Difference Day 1999, when church members' handyman talents were put to use repairing the burned-out home and business of a local couple.
Watertown Daily Times. To encourage preservation of their native language, 8 Mohawk Nation community organizations spent the day speaking only Mohawk and conducting fund-raising projects -- auctions, breakfasts, spaghetti dinners, walk-a-thons -- that netted about $3,800 for projects to preserve the Mohawk language and culture.
(White Plains) Journal News. 250 Iona College students and staff made a difference for 9 agencies. Projects included painting and providing supplies for a women's shelter, installing a new computer system and stocking a food pantry for a soup kitchen, drywalling 2 rooms of a Habitat for Humanity house in Yonkers, landscaping and cleanup at schools and parks, and entertaining inner-city children spending a day at a farm.
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North Carolina
$2,000 state awards
Jacksonville. Sometimes, all a person needs is a few dollars -- to get a car out of the shop to get to work, or a load of wood to stay warm in the winter or some help in paying for prescriptions. Knowing that little deeds mean a lot, 60 members of the Social Sciences Club of Coastal Carolina Community College asked Jacksonville-area residents to send in "needs" lists. 32 families wrote in, and all were helped. The group raised $4,500, and Oct. 28 set to work, doing yard maintenance, paying for car repairs, finding housing for some and buying furniture, food and clothes for others. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Onslow County Women's Shelter, 226 New Bridge Street, Jacksonville NC 28540
Kinston. Most of the Circle of Friends Lenoir County AIDS/HIV Task Force volunteers have day jobs helping others as social workers or medical professionals. Yet they continue to help during their "off" hours. On Oct. 28, 10 members helped an HIV-positive woman and her 9-year-old son who were living in a dangerously deteriorated house that had no heat, no decent roof and no functioning refrigerator. Circle of Friends provided seed money to move the small family into a new home and cleaned it from top to bottom, hung curtains and blinds, and installed appliances. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits The Lenoir County Aids Task Force, PO Box 6544, Kinston NC 28501
Newspaper awards
(Asheboro) Courier-Tribune. Parents and 20 children feathered the nest at Carillon Assisted Living by installing bird feeders and shrubs near a dining room window. The group also gave residents notebooks, binoculars and field guides to aid in bird-watching.
Asheville Citizen-Times. Henderson County's 15 K-9 deputies will be safer on the streets, thanks to members of the American Legion Post's Junior Auxiliary. On Oct. 28, the youngsters earned $350 at a bake sale, which they used to sweeten their donation of $8,000 to buy protective vests for the pooches.
(Burlington) Times-News. 25 volunteers -- corralled by the Volunteer Center of the United Way for Chatham County -- raised a fence and began building a playground at the county's Family Violence and Rape Crisis Center in Pittsboro. When completed, the playground will buffer kids whose parents are being served by the center.
(Durham) Herald-Sun. 25 members of an adult Sunday school class at Lea Bethel Baptist Church restored a miniature village in Prospect Hill, where they played as children. The attraction had fallen into disrepair; now it will be enjoyed by generations of kids.
(Eden) Daily News. 8 students and 9 parents sowed seeds and buried bulbs at a community rec center in Eden.
(Forest City) Daily Courier. 6 members of the Pilot Club of Rutherford County sewed 25 bibs for Alzheimer's patients at Carolina House, an extended care facility in Forest City.
(Gastonia) Gaston Gazette. Keep Gastonia Beautiful persuaded 3,850 students to pledge to do a nice thing for someone else on Make A Difference Day. Students performed tasks ranging from raking leaves to visiting elders in nursing homes. The non-profit also coordinated the planting of bulbs and pansies.
Goldsboro News-Argus. 4 members of a Pikeville family drummed up community support for their literacy project. The Atkinses -- Tracy, M.J., Brittany and Michael -- gave books to kids at a mall and to a library destroyed by a flood in 1999. They also donated 110 books to newborns at Wayne Memorial Hospital in Goldsboro.
(Henderson) Daily Dispatch. 4 siblings -- Shannon, 19; Heather, 17; Mandy, 16; and Randall Abbott, 12 -- decided to battle illiteracy in their county by launching a day-long program they dubbed "Shop, Drop and Read." The youngsters spent Oct. 28 at a department store reading to children whose parents were shopping. They also gave away some of the 100 books they had previously collected.
Hickory Daily Record. 50 volunteers of Love Walk Ministries cheered residents in a crime-ridden neighborhood by holding a street festival. The ministry served lunch and gave clothing to 1,200 people. Drawings were held that gave away new furniture, bicycles, electronics and a car.
High Point Enterprise. 500 volunteers, mobilized by United Way of Greater High Point Volunteer Center, worked on 21 projects, including yardwork, home repairs, painting, fund-raising and collecting supplies for U.S. troops overseas. In an economically depressed part of town, church members teamed with neighborhood activists to pledge support for building a community center.
(Jacksonville) Daily News. 10 members of the VFW Post 9960 Ladies Auxiliary raised $425 from a bake sale and Chinese auction for care facilities serving the severely disabled. On Oct. 28, they held a luncheon for 90 Carobell residents to celebrate the donation, which will help finance a new day care facility.
(Kannapolis) Independent Tribune. 13 youth group members from St. Joseph's Catholic Church offered rigatoni and fellowship to 25 men at the Salvation Army Night Shelter in Concord.
(Kinston) Free Press. 14 members of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church Junior Youth Group in Kinston painted the home of an 80-year-old man who had been displaced by 1999's Hurricane Floyd. The man had single-handedly rebuilt his home, and the teens pitched in to finish the job.
(Lenoir) News-Topic. 16 senior citizens worked with Habitat for Humanity volunteers to install vinyl siding and soffits at a house being built in Lenoir. Several of the seniors have become regular Habitat volunteers.
(Lumberton) Robesonian. 50 fourth- and fifth-graders at Forest Hills Global Studies School in Wilmington helped "Save the Music" by raising $1,200 for the Justin Timberlake Foundation, which aims to preserve music education in schools. The children painted and sold pet rocks to classmates and community members.
(Monroe) Enquirer-Journal. 17 students, their parents and 2 teachers led a book drive to benefit the Reading Is Fundamental program. The 856 new and gently used books were passed on to preschoolers and others in need.
(Morganton) News Herald. 19 members of the Grace Hospital Guild reached out to 130 residents of Grace Heights Nursing Home with a day of fun, including bingo, crafts and a petting zoo. A 94-year-old woman initially refused to attend but ended up playing bingo and making a craft. She died 3 days later at Grace Hospital. "It sounds tragic," says guild member Nancy Reis, "but it gave us a good feeling knowing that one of her last days on Earth was full of happiness and love."
Mount Airy News. 10 Mount Airy High School Jayteens brought hammers, nails and saws to the Meadowview Community Center to erect a playhouse for 75-plus Hispanic children who play at the center each day while their parents take language courses. "This is Mayberry," center director Polly Long said. "This town is really about neighbor helping neighbor."
(New Bern) Sun Journal. 30 Girl Scouts of Troop 1022, their parents and volunteers with New Bern Family Resources donned gloves and safety vests to clean up an economically depressed area. They also distributed food, bought with a Wal-Mart grant, to the needy.
(Roanoke Rapids) Sunday Herald. 450 volunteers recruited by the Northampton County Volunteer Center and Office on Aging collected 600 stuffed animals, personal items and $400 for various causes in the county. The toys were given to police and social services departments for children in crisis. The personal items went to 7 nursing homes.
Salisbury Post. 14 youths from Pfeiffer College and Rowan middle and high schools brightened the interior of 2 Salisbury Housing Authority community centers. The students painted, cleaned and relocated the spiders that lived in the window boxes and sills.
Sanford Herald. 30 volunteers from the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program and the Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care worked with schools and grocery stores to collect 10,000 pounds of canned and boxed goods for the county food bank.
Shelby Star. 5 women from the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Unit in Gastonia served a barbecue dinner to 145 nursing home residents. They also collected 93 cakes, 442 cookies and other goodies to donate to senior homes and hospitals.
Washington Daily News. 8 members of the Mattamuskeet High School Beta Club honored 35 prisoners at the Hyde Correctional Facility who had earned GEDs or vocational degrees. The teens presented the inmates with personalized Class of 2000 stationery. "These people are going through the same emotions about graduating as high school kids do," explained Beta Club adviser Deanie Dunbar, "and there's no one to congratulate them."
Wilson Daily Times. 11 American Legion and Auxiliary members of Unit 94 in Wilson teamed up with 5 Cub Scouts to fete the veterans of their community. In addition to taking care of yardwork for 1 veteran, the group held a party for 11 veterans at a nursing home.
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North Dakota
$2,000 state awards
Grand Forks. When Girl Scout Nicole Holcomb discovered the Grand Forks Community Violence Center was in financial dire straits, she rallied her troop, No. 156 Pine to Prairie, to help. Drafting a plan, the Scouts solicited 150 volunteers to canvass the community with literature explaining the center's needs and hand out paper bags to be filled with donations. On Oct. 28, volunteers collected the bags and filled 50 boxes of baby-care items, toiletries and food for the center. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Community Violence Intervention Center, 211 4th Street South, Grand Forks ND 58201
Hatton. 30 women in this close-knit farm community of 700 decided that none of their neighbors should go without a traditional Thanksgiving meal. So the Prairie Roses raised $600 in a rummage sale to create food baskets with the fixings for 18 complete dinners -- turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, vegetables, yams, cranberries, rolls, margarine, pumpkin pie, whipped topping and Jell-O. They were delivered to a food pantry in laundry baskets and discreetly distributed to needy families. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Hatton Community Centennial Center, PO Box 210, Hatton ND 58240
Newspaper awards
Bismarck Tribune. James Killingbeck helped residents at St. Vincent's Care Center nursing home with their meals, participated in wheelchair dancing and transported residents to the music rooms and to church.
Grand Forks Herald. Members of Four Leaf Friends 4-H Club assembled 60 transition kits for children who will be placed in foster care. Each kit included a duffel bag, hygiene supplies, toys, clothes and a blanket.
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Ohio
$2,000 National Encore award
Miami University of Ohio and the University of Virginia. Twin brothers challenged their colleges to do the most good; the rivalry received a 1999 national award. The twins graduated, leaving legacies: In October, Ohio participation rose to 2,000; participation in Virginia soared to 5,000 in 23 projects. $2,000 award from Gannett Foundation to benefit the Community Counseling and Crisis Center in Oxford, Ohio, and the UVA Alumni Association/The University Fund for Make A Difference Day. Want to make a donation? Write to: The Community Counseling and Crisis Center, Attn. Amy Forrester, 110 S. College Avenue, Oxford, OH 45056
$2,000 state awards
Elida. 8 children who set out to make a difference by collecting glasses for the visually impaired know a lot about the subject: All were born blind. Teacher Corinne Piper orchestrated the effort of her students, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, who live in 22 northwestern Ohio counties. They collected 200-plus pairs of used eyeglasses for New Eyes for the Needy, a national program that refurbishes glasses for the poor. 1 high school sophomore collected nearly half of the total. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Logan County Education Service Center, 121 South Opera Street, Bellefontaine OH 43311
Gallipolis. A fifth of adults in Gallia County are considered illiterate. A third have less than a 12th-grade education. Knowing these statistics, 6 workers at the Gallipolis Daily Tribune elected to promote literacy for Make A Difference Day, by buying every elementary school pupil in the county a new book. To raise awareness and money, they held an assembly at each school, organized benefit concerts and distributed videos, made exclusively for the project, of wrestling champ Al Snow reading The Cat in the Hat. In response, the county opened its pocketbooks: $14,000 and 300 books were donated. On Oct. 28, volunteers held a picnic to give away 2,000 books and 2 scholarships from Rio Grande University -- bringing the total donation to more than $54,000, part of which the newspaper used to start a "Gallia Reads" foundation. On hand was Ohio first lady Hope Taft: "It was the single most significant day I've spent as first lady. And I've attended more than 460 events." The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Gallipolis City School, 61 State Street, Gallipolis OH 45631
Newspaper awards
(Ashtabula) Star Beacon. Blues Project 2000, an all-volunteer blues/swing band made up of musicians, raised $4,000 for Hospice of Ashtabula County, including its Oct. 28 performance, "Once in a Blues Moon Halloween Haunt." The Blues Project was the hospice's single-largest donor last year.
Athens Messenger. 37 women with "Athens Women Raise the Roof" drywalled several rooms in the then-future home of Cecil and Janet Rhoades. The home, finished in December, was a Habitat for Humanity project.
(Bucyrus) Telegraph-Forum. 11 youth members of Peace Lutheran Church in Galion created cornucopia door hangings for the 27 elderly residents of Galion Community Hospital's extended-care home and entertained them with a sing-along.
(Canton) Repository. 2 dozen felons from the Stark Regional Community Correction Center in Louisville painted 200 pumpkins, which were delivered to pediatric units of 8 hospitals.
Chillicothe Gazette. Ross County Master Gardeners conducted a free "How to Compost" seminar in hopes that participants learn to "live a little more lightly upon the Earth."
Cincinnati Enquirer. 215 Guardian Angels' parishioners served meals at shelters; collected food, clothes and toys for the poor; made more than 500 "necessity" totes; raised $460 for the Red Cross; and made placemats for Meals on Wheels. 19 agencies benefitted, including food banks, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and other service agencies -- touching about 2,215 individuals.
Columbus Dispatch. Friends and family of 2-year-old Camille Booker, who died of leukemia in 1997, organized a memorial bone marrow drive in her honor. With the aid of the American Red Cross, the National Marrow Donor Program and Faith Ministries Church, 200 volunteers registered 63 minorities as bone marrow donors. The 6-hour event included a gospel concert, games for children and blood pressure screenings by Ohio State University Hospital.
Coshocton Tribune. The VFW 2040 Ladies Auxiliary collected about 1,000 cans of food for the Salvation Army food pantry.
(Defiance) Crescent-News. The Volunteer Connection (a division of United Way) coordinated a blood drive with a variety of groups, initiating a Fantasy Football challenge among corporations, having each donor vote for 1 of 2 major rivals: Ohio State University or the University of Michigan. Net result: 445 volunteers donating blood to the American Red Cross.
(Findlay) Courier. 14 Girl Scouts and 7 parents collected 35 new sets of bed sheets, 267 toiletry items and $154 to donate to Open Arms Domestic Violence Shelter.
(Fostoria) Review Times. 7 Field School kindergartners did chores at home, earning money to help feed the hungry at Thanksgiving. Martin Burke made 25 cents for making pancakes, $2 for cleaning his room. It all added up to $58.75, which fed 59 people through the Sharing Kitchen agency.
(Fremont) News-Messenger. Nursing home resident Isabel Herr, 77, spread cheer by making and hanging up posters and certificates filled with witticisms or thought-provoking sayings. She also gave certificates of recognition to all departments and treats to all employees.
(Gallipolis) Sunday Times-Sentinel. 5 auxiliary ladies of American Legion Unit 27 served homemade soup and sandwiches to 15 veterans, socialized, and listened to their war stories.
(Greenville) Daily Advocate. 18 students and adults affiliated with Greenville High's "Career-Based Intervention-Career Connections" combined a coat drive with an Autumn Harvest Party for Dark County's neediest children. 60 kids and parents came to the pizza-and-game party and left with 95 of the 182 coats. The rest were donated to Goodwill. 1 recipient said her family had just moved to an apartment after spending 8 months living in a car. The coats for the family, she said, were a godsend. High-schoolers arranged for businesses to donate dry cleaning, food and party supplies.
Ironton Tribune. 34 members of Coal Grove Church of the Nazarene built a ramp for a disabled man; repaired a disabled woman's home; and sponsored a "Free Clothing and Refreshments" day, assisting up to 150 people with lunch and new clothing. Leftover clothes went to a mission.
Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. The Pleasantville United Methodist Church Outreach Committee coordinated a number of events with 75 volunteers Oct. 28: A group of LaSertoma teens and adults raked 13 yards and cleaned gutters in 5 homes; 4-H club members entertained physically challenged group-home residents; firefighters installed smoke alarms and distributed extinguishers; 2 Brownie troops and some adults raked and cleaned at a senior complex; the church collected 57 coats to the needy; a school donated food to the hungry; and spring bulbs were planted all around Pleasantville.
Lima News. 5 projects drove 100 Ford Motor Co. plant workers in Lima: They built a storage shed at a Habitat for Humanity site, renovated a food bank, cleaned up a 92-year-old woman's yard, sold pies and donated the profits to the Literacy Council, and built a wheelchair ramp at an elderly man's home. The Lima Engine Plant has built 30 wheelchair ramps in 2 years for needy citizens.
(Lisbon) Morning Journal. Emmanuel Lutheran Church and a chapter of Aid Association for Lutherans hosted a dinner to raise $7,000 to help an ailing member of the congregation pay medical bills.
(Lorain) Morning Journal. 24 Junior Girl Scouts from Elyria coordinated a food drive on behalf of the Salvation Army, filling a mid-sized rental Ryder truck.
(Mansfield) News Journal. The Mansfield Area Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors installed a playground at a 10-bedroom domestic violence shelter. They built a fence, put down mulch and prepared the grounds for the swing set they plan to install this spring.
Marietta Times. Clark Alternative School collaborated with 7 agencies on 3 projects. Volunteers from Marietta Middle School and the Youth Cultural Center worked with Washington County's Recycling & Litter Prevention Program to paint "Dump No Waste, Drains to River" signs on 24 storm drains. Marietta College students and volunteers from the Youth Cultural Center planted trees at the Humane Society. Volunteers from Washington State Community College, St. Luke's Episcopal Church and Marietta's middle and high schools filled 4 trucks with clothes, school supplies and computers they collected for the needy families on the Pine Ridge (Native American) Reservation.
Marion Star. The Marion Evening Lions Club collected 196 pairs of eyeglasses for Ohio State University's Department of Optometry, which sanitizes and repairs the glasses and, in turn, donates them to needy people abroad.
(Martins Ferry) Times Leader. Sixth-grade students at Bridgeport Middle School sponsored a read-a-thon, earning $550 to donate to Bridgeport's new public library.
(Massillon) Independent. 13 student musicians and singers from Jackson High School Tri-M Music Honor Society collected 1,000 books in a 3-week drive to benefit the Massillon Boys & Girls Club and an adult literacy program.
(New Philadelphia) Times-Reporter. Starlight School and SEI Adult Services, a school and workshop for the disabled, collected $254 and 7,000 pounds of food, enough to fill 200 gift baskets for the Salvation Army. Also participating were 8 grocery stores, fire and sheriff's departments and the National Guard.
(Newark) Advocate. HANDSS (Heath and Newark Do Something Special) sponsored many events: 5K run to benefit Habitat for Humanity ($1,000); Regis Hair Salon's "Clip for Cancer," where proceeds from cuts went to breast cancer research ($300-plus); Eagle Scouts helped volunteers build 6 handicapped-accessible picnic tables for a park; and Heath elementary students collected more than 3,000 pounds of food for a pantry.
Piqua Daily Call. 28 neighbors cleaned up debris from an old dump site adjacent to the Miami-Erie Canal towpath in Shelby County. The cleanup enabled locals to once again use the path for biking and walking.
(Port Clinton) News Herald. Students in 1 Kirtland Middle School class each found a way to make a difference to someone in their lives Oct. 28. They raked, brought signs to show support at games, baked cookies, baby-sat free, etc. An eighth-grader, Tom Lazar, helped someone most of the kids think is a "crabby old man with no sense of humor." After doing chores for the man all day, Tom discovered not only that he was nice but also that they were both Slovenian. And the man invited him to dinner.
Portsmouth Daily Times. 14-year-old Adam Morris organized a team to clean up 2 1/2 miles of alleys, earning a Boy Scout Eagle Feather leadership badge.
(Ravenna) Record-Courier. David's Ministry collected 100 duffel bags and stuffed them with sweatshirts, sweatpants, flannel shirts, socks, ski hats, gloves, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and shampoo to give to a shelter for homeless men.
Sandusky Register. For the third year, Boy Scouts from Pack 409 made a difference: 45 fifth-graders from Vermilion Intermediate School stuffed 125 sacks with donated school supplies, health and beauty products, first-aid kits, free-meal coupons, gloves, non-perishables and toys for 100 needy families.
(Steubenville) Herald-Star. When an emergency brings a child to the hospital, parents put in long hours waiting, usually without basics like toothbrushes and deodorant with them. 3 churches put together 200 packets of toiletries and prepaid phone cards to give to parents of patients at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
(Tiffin) Advertiser-Tribune. 60 Heidelberg College students and their families cleaned up Rock Creek and around campus. They also put together disaster relief kits for victims of the next flood, donating them to the Northwest Ohio Association of the United Church of Christ.
(Warren) Tribune Chronicle. Girl Scout Service Unit 607 collected 2,680 non-perishable food items for SCOPE, a community agency that cares for the elderly in Trumbull County.
(Willoughby) News-Herald. St. Gabriel School collected dozens of outfits, sleepers, onesies, socks, diapers, wipes and other items for Birthright, a group that helps women who cannot afford necessities for their babies.
(Wooster) Daily Record. 45 staffers, students and families at Wooster Township Elementary washed cars and donated $500 to MOMS (Mentoring Our Mothers Successfully), a community program helping moms coming off public assistance. The money will buy these families 1 quality children's book a week for 2 months so they can build their own libraries. "Celebrity" car-washers on Oct. 28 included George Bush and Al Gore (kids wearing masks). Those having their cars washed also "voted" for president; Bush won by a 3-1 margin. No recounts were requested.
Xenia Daily Gazette. Gen. Daniel "Chappie" James Auxiliary Unit 776 gathered 71 sets of sheets, towels, blankets, comforters and other items for the St. Vincent Hotel, a homeless shelter in Dayton.
(Zanesville) Times Recorder. 30 students from Maysville High School in Zanesville held a scavenger hunt for the Salvation Army. In 3 hours, they turned up more than 1,500 clothes, 550 canned goods and 135 coats.
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Oklahoma
$10,000 National award
Muldrow. Orphaned as a baby, Brendan Shepard, 9, struggled with life and school. Then Kyle Alderson brought Brendan into READ (Reading Encourages All Dreams), a teens-tutoring-kids project that Alderson founded on Make A Difference Day. Today, Brendan's grades are up; his spirits, too. Each week, 30 elementary students meet with the town's teen tutors who've become role models and friends. Children's author Ann Tyzo, who donates books to the program, says Alderson "changed these kids' destiny." $10,000 award from Newman's Own benefits Friends of the Muldrow Library. Want to make a donation? Write to: Eastern Sequoyah County Oklahoma Friends Of The Muldrow Library, Inc., P.O. Box 449, Muldrow, OK 74948
$2,000 state awards
Altus. 15 needy families hitched their hopes Oct. 28 to the Jackson County 4-H Riding Club, as 16 young horseback riders followed a nostalgic 41-mile route following the Red River, relay style, to re-enact the 19th-century Pony Express. In their saddlebags were receipts of the cash donations pooled for 2 agencies: $395 for the Heartland of Southwest Oklahoma United Way, serving a 5-county area, and $425 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A covered wagon loaded with $1,000 worth of non-perishables collected in October at 9 public schools was part of a downtown parade, delivering canned goods, flour, rice and noodles to the Community Food Cupboard. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Jackson County 4-H Club, PO Box 61, Blair OK 73526.
Norman. The Sooner AMBUCS, a group that retools computers and donates them to the disabled, teamed up with 7 students at Francis Tuttle Vocational Technical School in Oklahoma City for a marathon fix-up session. In 6 hours, they upgraded 50 hard drives and keyboards, and tested 100 monitors. The group operates out of several large tractor-trailer trucks, receiving donations from north-central Oklahoma of discarded 286s, 386s and Pentiums, which disabled adults and youngsters can use for word processing, games and financial management. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Sooner Ambucs, 2829 Misty Ridge Drive, Norman OK 73071
Newspaper awards
(Ardmore) Daily Ardmoreite. 3 women from the Compassion Seeds Animal Sanctuary spent 2 weeks combing the ruins of 2 century-old farmhouses -- oblivious to resident spiders, scorpions, snakes, rats and armadillos -- to find antiques for an Oct. 28 yard sale that netted $1,300 for the animal shelter and needy senior pet owners.
(Bartlesville) Examiner-Enterprise. Edna, 65, and Claude Havens, 66, spent 10 hours identifying 115 graves in a neglected Delaware tribal cemetery in Nowata County. Among those buried are 3 generations of Edna's ancestors.
Enid News & Eagle. 10 members of the North Garland Church of Christ spent Oct. 28 transporting and sorting $1,500 in food -- collected in a month-long drive -- to restock its food pantry, whose shelves were literally bare. Another $1,800 in cash donations bought supplies to help 210 families through the winter.
(Lawton) Sunday Constitution. 3 VFW Auxiliary Post 1193 ladies -- 2 in their 80s -- rounded up $824 worth of new underwear, socks, T-shirts, training bras, combs and brushes, plus $44.20 in cash donations, for 2 dozen kids at the J. Roy Dunning Children's Shelter. They corralled shoppers for 8 hours Oct. 28 outside Wal-Mart.
McAlester News-Capital & Democrat. Fifth-grader Alyssa Latty of Kiowa raised $1,620 -- in cash, food and household donations, including diapers, a card table and a home stereo -- for the Pittsburg County Youth Emergency Shelter in a 6-hour singing marathon at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
Muskogee Daily Phoenix. 35 fourth-graders from the Sadler Arts Academy adopted 50 seniors at Greenbriar Assisted Living Center for the coming year. Oct. 28, the "January-December" pairs played checkers and bingo, read stories, built puzzles and sang songs.
Norman Transcript. Danielle Quinnett, a high school junior and aspiring actress, hosted an all-day concert at the American Legion Hall featuring 13 bands (folk, honky-tonk, Christian rock, ska), raising $750 of the $6,000 she needs to open a performing-arts club and gallery in her town.
Stillwater News Press. With the help of a $250 Wal-Mart grant, 75 Stillwater High School Spanish Club members, ages 15-18, cooked and served an authentic Mexican meal for 70 folks at a homeless shelter. The teens also taught dances and the art of making paper flowers. The change of pace was so wonderful for recipients, 1 remarked that "it was better than Christmas."
Tulsa World. 2,000 volunteers pooled by the Tulsa Area Chapter of the American Red Cross -- mostly children active in 18 of its 83 Red Cross School Clubs -- collected, sorted and stamped 12,000 kids' books, plus 4,000 adult titles, for 5 Housing Authority sites. Encyclopedias and adult resource books also were delivered to each site.
Oregon
$2,000 state awards
Albany. 122 students from the city's 3 middle schools partnered with 67 adult volunteers to complete 60 projects for senior citizens, such as window washing, gutter cleaning, light housework and yard maintenance. The "Albany's Promise" effort lifted up the entire town. 1 group mended and painted a fence; others cleaned up neighborhood parks. Beth Madison, principal of North Albany Middle School, got involved on her own, painting 60 graffiti-smeared dumpsters at 29 sites in neighboring Corvallis. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits United Way of Linn County, P. O. Box 905, Albany OR 97321
Corvallis. Franklin School's Make A Difference Day project started when a teacher hung a bird feeder outside her classroom window. Another teacher followed suit, and then another. Soon, the teachers found themselves immersed in a full-blown project on Oregon's natural habitats and decided to get their students involved. In an area where wildlife is scarce and shopping centers abound, the students, staff and parents planted several gardens, each demonstrating portions of their state's ecosystems, including a butterfly garden, woodland habitat and coastal Oregon garden. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Franklin School, 750 NW 18th Street, Corvallis OR 97330
Newspaper awards
(Albany) Mid-Valley Sunday. To temper escalating heating costs for needy neighbors, 24 quilters from St. Martin's Episcopal Church sewed 17 twin-sized patchwork quilts as part of a comfort drive by Sue Davis' Strawberry Patches Quilt Shop in Lebanon, which bundled 45 new and gently used quilts for a Linn County soup kitchen.
(Coos Bay) World. 15 high schoolers from the Boys & Girls Club of Southwestern Oregon hosted a day of games designed to simulate the bad effects of drugs on the body. The goal: combat the area's growing crisis of methamphetamine addiction and promote healthful living for 400 soccer players, ages 5-17, and 200 adults visiting the fields at North Bay school. $500 was raised for Coos County's family drug rehabilitation program.
(Salem) Statesman Journal. 1,200 bus drivers, instructional assistants, office staff, maintenance workers and custodians from 50 Salem-Keizer schools collected toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap and deodorant -- 4,500 items -- for 10 shelters and agencies, enough for 500 families.
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Pennsylvania
$2,000 National Encore award
Pottsville. When 9,700 residents tackled 145 projects, helping 5,000 of their neediest neighbors, they merited a 2000 national award. Last October, volunteers topped 10,000, many of them children. $2,000 award from the Gannett Foundation benefits The Schuylkill County Department of Human Services. Want to make a donation? Write to: The Schuylkill County Department of Human Services, c/o Sharon Love, 420 North Centre Street, Pottsville, PA 17901
$2,000 state awards
Pottstown. For the seventh straight year, Pottstown Senior High School students turned out in droves -- 400 pupils, led by their student government association -- to tackle 50 projects, mainly aimed at helping the town's elderly with yardwork and minor repairs. The high school has spearheaded the town's Make A Difference Day efforts since 1994, and participation led to the creation of 2 smaller spring community service days, as well as a Make A Difference Day $4,000 scholarship to recognize a student's commitment to service. The teens also painted a recreation room at the Salvation Army, removed graffiti, painted picnic tables and widened a trail at 6 parks, and cleaned a stretch of roadway adopted by the school. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Pottstown Senior High Making A Difference Scholarship Fund, N. Washington Street, Pottstown PA 19464
Thorndale. Dentist Richard DeForno, 51, and his staff of 10 performed $30,000 worth of free dental care to 16 members of the working poor who can't afford dental insurance. 30 patients were screened in advance of Make A Difference Day, and Oct. 28, the neediest lined up for the 8-hour drill-a-thon. 1 patient walked out with $4,000 worth of dental care. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Bridge of Hope, 1516 Olive Street, Coatesville PA 19320
Newspaper awards
Altoona Mirror. In their school's first Make A Difference Day effort, 65 Juniata College students, faculty and administrators raked leaves and winterized homes for Huntingdon senior citizens; painted and cleaned at Horsepower Farm, a therapeutic riding center; and gathered recyclables.
(Beaver) Beaver County/Allegheny Times. 62 students from Gateway Senior High School in Monroeville scavenged for Halloween-themed items ranging from pink spray-on hair coloring and reflective tape to a real cobweb and a picture of Boris Karloff, collecting points that translated into cash pledged by sponsors. The 2-hour hunt raised $982 for the National Alliance for Autism Research.
Ambridge High School Interact Club kicked off its "Home Safe Home" project by conducting safety inspections of 11 homes of senior citizens. The teens installed 23 smoke detectors and 11 nightlights and distributed safety items like flashlights, fire extinguishers and bath mats.
(Bloomsburg) Press Enterprise. Cadette Troop 399 distributed 683 clothing items collected by the troop during the summer and fall to 32 needy families at a clothing giveaway held at the Danville Elks. Leftover items were given to the Good Samaritan Clothes Closet in Danville.
Bradford Era. McKean County Big Brothers/Big Sisters took pet food and cleaning supplies collected at 4 grocery stores to an animal shelter.
Butler Eagle. For the third year, 125 high school and church volunteers delivered spaghetti dinners to 52 needy, mostly homebound senior citizens in southern Butler County. Teams of 3 or 4 teens and 1 adult performed chores such as washing windows, cleaning garages and raking leaves. The seniors later received photo albums of the day's events, paid for by a $400 grant from Wal-Mart.
(Carlisle) Sentinel. Members of Huntsdale Church of the Brethren baked 200 pounds of chocolate candy clusters to sell to benefit Children's Aid Society, an agency serving children in York, Franklin and Adams counties. The session was part of a 3-day candy-making effort that resulted in sales of 600 pounds of chocolate, raising $4,000.
(Chambersburg) Public Opinion. Erik Weinacht, 8, accompanied by parents Kurt and Maria, delivered a minivan full of food, toys, clothing and household items to the Franklin County Homeless Shelter. He expanded last year's effort by persuading 3 grocery stores to donate or discount food for the cause.
(Clearfield) Progress. Clearfield's 5 parks and the downtown got cleaned up courtesy of 250 volunteers from scout troops, churches, sports teams, school clubs, senior citizen groups, businesses and social service agencies. Volunteers trimmed trees, hauled brush, raked leaves, weeded and picked up trash. A crew of 10 prisoners from the Quehanna Boot Camp cleared brush from the banks of the Susquehanna River.
(Easton) Express-Times. 12 Bethlehem FedEx employees and family members put together a sliding board-climbing apparatus for the Los Niños Learning Center in South Allentown. The day-care center, which serves mostly low-income Hispanic families, raised enough money to buy the $7,000 piece of equipment but lacked the $3,000 the manufacturer wanted for putting it together.
(Greensburg) Tribune-Review. 12 volunteers moved broken office furniture out of the Crisis Center North in North Hills and replaced it with new equipment. The volunteers also cleared unneeded donations out of the attic and upstairs offices and delivered them to other agencies. Organizer Maria Christina secured tickets and passes to attractions for distribution to Crisis Center clients.
(Hanover) Evening Sun. Members of Take Off Pounds Sensibly Pa. No. 983 used a $1,000 Wal-Mart grant to buy a 19-cubic-foot refrigerator and food -- much of which they cooked and prepared for freezing -- for the Gettysburg Community Soup Kitchen. The women expanded 1999's effort by delivering baked goodies to volunteer fire company, nursing home, hospital and prison workers.
(Hazleton) Standard-Speaker. 15 members of the Serento Gardens Student Board of Directors, a group active in fighting teen substance abuse, cleaned up a blighted playground near a housing project. The teens painted graffiti-covered play equipment and cut grass, weeded and raked, filling 2 dozen 30-gallon garbage bags with debris.
Indiana Gazette. 50 Indiana University of Pennsylvania varsity athletes distributed 500 inkless fingerprint child ID kits to parents attending a football game at the college. The kits were donated by the American Football Coaches Association.
(Lansdale) Reporter. Suzuki Method music teachers arranged concerts at 24 Philadelphia- area nursing homes and a home for severely disabled children. About 155 piano or violin students performed for 460 listeners.
Lebanon Daily News. 70 Palmyra High students delivered books to the pediatric unit and decorated the newborn nursery at Hershey Medical Center; raised $175 for a child in India; raked and cleaned flower beds at the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey; tested water and cleaned trash at Swatara Creek; picked up litter along a section of Route 117, and visited Lebanon Valley Brethren Home, where they helped with crafts and a bazaar, and displayed a student mural featuring the older and younger generation.
(McKeesport) Daily News. 6 Ya'Shewa Ministries volunteers drove to areas in McKeesport and Pittsburgh frequented by the homeless and distributed clothing and blankets to the needy.
Meadville Tribune. 48 MOVE (Making Opportunities for Volunteerism and Exploration) volunteers -- adults with developmental disabilities -- baked cookies for a soup kitchen and dog biscuits for an animal shelter; crafted potpourri sachets for nursing home residents; made pillows and decorated stationery and cards for hospital patients; and made blankets and chalkboards for traumatized kids. They delivered the items Oct. 28.
New Castle News. Telephone Pioneers of America, Fort Pitt Chapter 13, treated youngsters and their matches from Big Brothers/Big Sisters and residents of a women's shelter and their children -- 55 people in all -- to an outing at a Mount Jackson farm. Highlights included a hayride, games and a bonfire.
(Norristown) Times Herald. Members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Fairview Village teamed up with Jr. ROTC cadets from Roxborough High School in Philadelphia to entertain residents of the Southeastern Veterans Center in Spring City with homemade cookies, songs and dances such as the hokey pokey.
(Phoenixville) Phoenix. 60 volunteers shoveled, raked and weeded St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden, completing drainage improvements that will double the garden's output, much of which is donated to the Chester County Food Bank. Volunteers included West Chester University fraternity brothers who found the project via the Web and teen boys from a rehabilitation program for juvenile offenders, as well as residents of the nearby low-income housing project, gardeners and church members.
(Pottstown) Mercury. Carol Royce and Evelyn Liptak rallied their Gilbertsville neighborhood, Colonial Ridge, to donate groceries to the Boyertown Area Multi-Service food pantry. The 2 women collected 70 bags of food, double last year's contribution.
Pottsville Republican & Evening Herald. St. Clair Elementary School third-graders, who in 1999 collected $800 in pennies to help the homeless, expanded their project to include 3 other schools and raised $2,844.68 for the Salvation Army. $2,200 of the total came from St. Clair.
(Primos) Delaware County Sunday Times. Barbara Smith and Carol Torelli led 50 volunteers in planting 6 trees and 800 tulips at East Lake Park, the site of the Ridley Park Greens Committee's third Make A Difference Day effort. Volunteers also terraced a hilly area in the long-neglected park and planted evergreens and perennials to reduce erosion.
(Sharon) Herald. Using donations from a hospital, the fire department, hotels and restaurants, 10 AmeriCorps*VISTA members and 13 elementary and middle school volunteers assembled 150 personal-care kits for disaster victims, valued at $800. A $500 Wal-Mart grant purchased 73 blankets for distribution by the American Red Cross.
(Somerset) Daily American. 11 members of the Somerset County 4-H Council and 2 adult leaders stitched 27 close-fitting, soft "comfort caps" for cancer patients with hair loss.
(Tarentum) Valley News Dispatch. The Girls Leaders Association of Plum Senior High School in Plum Borough organized a walk-a-thon to raise funds for breast cancer research. 110 participants raised $3,500 in the 3-mile walk at Boyce Park for the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.
(Washington) Observer-Reporter. Pancake Skate 'N' Whirl owner Tony Hartlage donated $1 of each admission fee to his rink's Saturday night band fest to The CARE Center, which helps sexual-assault victims. The Make A Difference Day contribution totaled $168, and Hartlage continues to donate $2 of each Tuesday admission fee.
(West Chester) Daily Local News. 10 West Chester University students spent the day at a Habitat for Humanity rowhouse in Coatesville. The students spread gravel for the driveway and hung drywall and insulation in 2 rooms.
(Wilkes-Barre) Citizens' Voice. 300 Tunkhannock Area Middle School eighth-graders and teachers tackled 20 projects, including a food drive, literacy programs, landscaping, cleanups, nursing home visits and serving meals at a soup kitchen.
York Dispatch. Volunteers for South Eastern Dollars for Scholars -- 65 students and adults over 2 days -- finished stuffing 8,500 envelopes with a fund-raising letter seeking $1 or more from each home in the South Eastern School District of the county, which encompasses schools in Stewartstown, Fawn Grove and Delta. The letter has raised $5,500; the group has awarded 26 scholarships totaling $24,000 to district students in the past 2 years.
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Puerto Rico
$2,000 awards
Aguadilla. Casa del Peregrino, or "Home of the Pilgrim," is a homeless/drug rehab shelter founded 3 years ago after a university study pinpointed homelessness as this town's No. 1 social problem: 63% of citizens live on public assistance, and 500 street people, or "squatters," fall through the cracks. The shelter is the only one within 50 square miles. But the 10 overworked employees couldn't meet such basic needs as health care. So Oct. 28, 80 volunteers -- including 15 kids from Colegio San Carlos and Colegio San Antonio en Isabela schools and 5 adults calling themselves "Lideres de Paz" (Peace Leaders) -- installed a clinic, opening doors for vaccinations, treatment for diabetes or asthma, screening for HIV and TB, and doses of basic TLC. They spent the day cleaning (furniture, bathrooms, the kitchen and the 20 emergency apartments), painting the clinic and serving meals. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Casa Peregrino Agudilla Inc., PO Box 3837, Aguadilla PR 00605
Santurce. 40 University of Sacred Heart students wore their hearts on their sleeve by hosting an "open tent" day for 400 needy elderly and homeless people in a high-crime San Juan barrio, offering new clothes, new do's and nutrition. Businesses, non-profits and citizens donated funds, toiletries, cleaning products and thousands of pounds of clean, used clothes. 1 street person arrived at 7 a.m., confessed he hadn't had a bath in a long time, apologized for how he looked, but asked if he could help for the day. The cosmetology students walked him to where a homeowner let him wash. Another man wandered in and started eating out of the garbage can, looking for a meal. Student Ariel Clemente spent 9 hours clipping hair, working around lice. All 40 students, plus a few teachers, broke barriers by sitting down and eating with their special guests. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits University of Sacred Heart, PO Box 12383, San Juan PR 00914-0383
Rhode Island
$2,000 state awards
South Kingstown. To kick off an ongoing project to provide handmade quilts, blankets, scarves, mittens, hats and lap robes to those in need, 10 women, including one 94 years old, gathered at a senior center to stitch quilts, knit scarves and crochet blankets for agencies such as South County Hospital, South County Community Action and the Women's Resource Center. A $500 grant from Wal-Mart purchased fabric and yarn, which organizer Bea Parker, 75, continues to distribute at weekly sewing sessions. Since Oct. 28, 100 people have joined the effort, including a junior high class that recently learned to sew, and Parker has distributed 340 lap robes, 200 mitten sets, 330 quilts, 70 hats and 60 scarves. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Senior Youth Association, 25 St. Dominic Road, Wakefield RI 02879
Woonsocket. 8 victims of domestic violence entertained elderly residents of St. Francis House with songs such as Tea for Two and Give My Regards to Broadway. The women live in a former convent now owned by the Haven of Grace Ministries and are trying to turn around their lives by focusing on education, life skills, self-respect and spiritual growth. Haven of Grace staff also participated in Make A Difference Day by creating a regional newsletter to recognize the positive accomplishments of teens. The newsletter is an outgrowth of anti-violence programs Haven of Grace conducts in schools. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Haven of Grace, PO Box 224, Woonsocket RI 02895
Newspaper awards
Newport Daily News. 25 employees and family members of Tuition Management Systems, a tuition-assistance company based in Newport, created bird and butterfly gardens for residents of the Alzheimer's wing at Grand Islander Nursing Home in Middletown.
(Pawtucket) Times. 3 seniors continued their ongoing project of knitting baby blankets, lap blankets, scarves and infant sweater sets for the needy. They are part of a group of 12 women, most 80 or older, who eat lunch together during the week at a Providence community center run by the Federal Hill House Association.
(West Warwick) Kent County Daily Times. The Rhode Island Community Food Bank's Operation Frontline Program gave 25 children in low-income families lessons in cooking, nutrition and healthful eating.
Westerly Sun. Laurie Dunn's fifth-grade class at Springbrook School taught 50 other children and family members how to create origami decorations, making 100 for residents of 2 nursing homes.
(Woonsocket) Call. 45 Catholic Family Life Insurance members collected a truckload of non-perishable food for the food pantry of St. James Episcopal Church.
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South Carolina
$2,000 state awards
Seneca. 30 volunteers in Oconee County with slight to severe mental retardation pitched in on activities tailored to their ability. 1 group collected newspapers for an animal shelter. Another filled snack bags to be given away at a United Way/Make A Difference Day event. 25 people planted flowers at a nursing home and then filled helium balloons at a United Way event. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits The Oconee County Association for the Retarded Citizens, 116 South Cove Road, Seneca SC 29672
Swansea. Since the coal mines near Rhodell, W.Va., shut down in the mid-1980s, stores have closed and poverty rates have soared. The town was ripe for a visit from the ladies of the Henhouse -- the Henhouse ministry, that is, a group of 26 Swansea seniors who devote their time to helping others. 8 women arrived in Rhodell Oct. 28 with 2 trucks full of warm clothing and non-perishable food, 50 backpacks containing school supplies, and stockings stuffed with toys, mittens, ponchos and hats. They also brought fixings to serve a spaghetti dinner to 75 residents. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits HEN House Ministries, 1558 Whetstone Road, Swansea SC 29160
Newspaper awards
Aiken Standard. 30 children and 16 adults from East Aiken Elementary School freshened the facade of the Homework Center, where many kids gather for a snack and homework after school. The center serves 64 children, and the kids wanted to do something for the adults who volunteer daily to help them.
Beaufort Gazette. 14 kids from Thumbs Up, an after-school program for children who live with adults with disabilities, teamed with 9 Beaufort High students and 13 adults to make 100 "welcome" boxes for an abused kids' shelter. The brightly decorated boxes were filled with toiletries, games, candy and kind notes.
(Florence) Morning News. 300 volunteers organized a party to bring together kids waiting to be adopted and parents wanting to expand their families. The parents -- all approved on the state adoption waiting list -- met with 80 children at the gala luncheon, featuring puppets, wildlife, art activities, clowns and magicians. Region IV Adoption received 17 inquiries afterward.
Greenville News. 400 Oconee Memorial Hospital staffers and volunteers from radio station WGOG collected 10,000 diapers for United Way agencies. The groups also handed out 150 bike helmets and made 56 flower arrangements for a nursing home.
(Hilton Head) Island Packet. 50 volunteers from Hilton Head Heart collected 45 pints of blood and a truckload of food for a blood bank and food pantry. The group now holds a drive every 2 months on the 28th, in honor of Oct. 28th's Make A Difference Day.
(Rock Hill) Herald. 37 members of the Fort Mill High School cross-country team threw a picnic for 20 third- and fourth-graders they tutor year-round. The kids played games, ate hot dogs and walked a cross-country course with their mentors. The teenagers also helped the younger kids apply for library cards.
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South Dakota
$2,000 state awards
Chester. 11-year-old Mary Kate Sershen loves recess, so it saddened her that another student couldn't join the fun -- or get needed exercise -- on her school's playground. For Make A Difference Day, Mary Kate organized a walk-a-thon to raise $2,000 to buy an exercise swing for wheelchair-bound Ashley Chick, a second-grader born with spina bifida. On that misty, chilly day, 70 residents raised $4,500, double what was needed. The excess will go toward a special van for Ashley. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Chester Booster Foundation, PO Box 99, Chester SD 57016
Gettysburg. When a 7-bed hospital announced it could no longer provide nurses to ride along in ambulances as patients are transported to larger medical facilities, the General Federated Women's Club of Gettysburg wanted to ensure that the needs of the area's elderly and sick were met. Through their "Poor Man's Supper," they raised $3,000 to train the town's 8 emergency medical technicians in advanced life support. Now the EMTs are qualified to insert IVs and monitor patients on long hospital runs. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits General Federation Women's Club/Gettysburg, PO Box 141, Gettsyburg SD 57442
Newspaper awards
(Aberdeen) American News. 10 volunteers from the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary hosted a taco dinner Oct. 27 to raise money to fund a miniature golf course in Conde, a town of 200. Oct. 28, the auxiliary handed over the dinner proceeds, $395, to the Conde Civic Development group.
(Sioux Falls) Argus Leader. 60 Easter Seals volunteers in 5 communities across the state collected 366 pieces of used medical equipment, including lift chairs, wheelchairs, scooters and walkers, to refurbish for needy individuals.
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Tennessee
$2,000 state awards
Franklin. 20 middle and high school students, all attending the Alternative Learning Center in Franklin because they have encountered trouble at their mainstream schools, reached out to 100 impoverished youngsters living in a city housing project. Focusing on a dual theme of autumn and safety, they organized a fall festival for Oct. 28. The ALC students coordinated games (piñatas, obstacle courses), entertainment (a moon bounce, clowns) and lunch. They also passed out safety pamphlets and fingerprint kits to parents. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits William County Alternative Learning Center/Williamson County Govt., 408 Century Court, Franklin, TN 37064
Nashville. Leigh Marrero, 36, had read about Make A Difference Day for 5 years. Finally, in 2000, she acted on her idea to help inner-city kids learn about a variety of sports by attending clinics and lessons. Working with the Davidson County Sheriff's Project for Organized Recreation and Team Sports and the Metro Parks and Recreation Department, Marrero brought together city coaches; high school, college and pro athletes; and sponsors to help. Oct. 28, 140 kids attended. Each chose which clinics to attend, including basketball, softball, soccer, baseball and tennis. They also got lunch, a shirt and the chance to meet Joy Holmes-Harris, a Nashville resident who plays for the WNBA's Detroit Shock. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits S.P.O.R.T.S., 506 2nd Avenue North, Nashville TN 37201
Newspaper awards
(Athens) Daily Post-Athenian. 12 Cub Scout "bears" from Pack 73 in Etowah collected a trailer- and truckload full of clothing donations for Goodwill Industries.
(Clarksville) Leaf-Chronicle. 10 members of St. Bethlehem Civitan Club cleaned and painted buildings at the entrance of Dunbar Cave State Park. The state was going to close the park because of budget problems, but the efforts by the Civitans and Friends of Dunbar Cave lifted it from the hit list.
Cleveland Daily Banner. Beautician Cynthia Davis went to a nursing home and pampered 9 women and 1 gentleman at the home. Davis shampooed, cut and styled their hair.
(Dyersburg) State Gazette. The Exchange Club/Tina Turner Family Center in Ripley sponsored a carnival, raising $2,000 for the center's child abuse prevention programs. 83 volunteers from Lauderdale County businesses, churches, schools and civic groups donated 200 hours to set up and run games for the carnival, attended by 400.
Jackson Sun. Students and their families from Jackson Christian School collected 650 books and hosted a fall festival for children who live in a housing authority neighborhood. Volunteers served up 240 hot dogs, 335 sodas and 200 desserts at the festival, which also featured a petting zoo, dunking booth and games.
Kingsport Times-News. 1,000 volunteers raised $15,000 to sponsor a Habitat for Humanity home in Rogersville. Soliciting donations $5 at a time, under the slogan "Change Lives With Fives," members of the American Legion Auxiliary and Rogersville InterClub Council were able to partly subsidize the cost of 2 houses.
(Maryville) Daily Times. 4 volunteers from Greenback Senior Citizens purchased health and beauty supplies for 16 girls at a teen shelter. They also gave $100 to the Greenback High School choir for supplies.
(Nashville) Tennessean. 12 members of Dickson Junior Woman's Club gathered 1,082 items, including detergent, paper towels, soap and over-the-counter drugs for the Women Are Safe Shelter.
(Oak Ridge) Oak Ridger. 35 Girl Scouts, family members and volunteers worked with Jefferson Middle School students to develop fitness trails at a nature center. The youngsters cleared trails, mulched them and rerouted 1 to protect an endangered species.
(Sevierville) Mountain Press. 17 students at a Seymour boarding school that serves children
in need honored their 49 teachers by bringing them lunch.
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Texas
$10,000 National award
Fort Hood and Killeen. At the nation's largest military base and its central Texas community, Make A Difference Day has grown in six years from a scant 20 projects to more than 135, from a few hundred volunteers to 12,000. The Make A Difference Day 2000 blitzkrieg of good works included book and clothing drives, hospital and nursing home visits, school renovations, meals for the homeless, a bowling outing for Special Olympians. Fort Hood's Peggy Stamper says volunteers feel so good about Make A Difference Day that as soon as one's over, they start planning the next: "It's taken on a life of its own." $10,000 award from Newman's Own benefits Killeen Volunteers Inc. Want to make a donation? Write to: Killeen Volunteers Inc., P.O. Box 1329, Killeen, TX 76540
$10,000 National award
Laredo. Rooms with dirt floors, half as many cribs as babies, and toddlers begging for food and hugs -- that's what volunteers from Nye Elementary School found across the border at a destitute Mexican orphanage. So Nye's families, though cash-strapped themselves, adopted the orphanage and rallied Laredo to the cause. The result: donations of diapers, food, appliances and $11,000 cash; repairs to the decrepit orphanage and free surgery for a tyke's cleft lip. The Make A Difference Day project continues -- and at many visits, orphanage founder "Mama Lupita" Carmona welcomes volunteers with tears of thanks. $10,000 award from Newman's Own benefits The Provider Outreach, Inc., Laredo. Want to make a donation? Write to: The Provider Outreach, Inc., 6019 McPherson Rd., Suite #2, Laredo, TX 78041
$2,000 state awards
Bryan. For years, Bryan mechanical contractor Gilbert Lavender and his wife, Patricia, drove by a ramshackle church they assumed was abandoned. When they learned that a poor, elderly black congregation with fewer than 12 members shared the peeling, leaky structure with another, slightly larger congregation, the Gilberts began planning a renovation of the historic 120-year-old New Liberty Baptist Church, established by slaves before the Civil War. 65 volunteers -- members of churches, students in an alternative education program and people who heard about the project on TV or the radio -- cleared 6 trash-truck loads of overgrown vines, limbs and trash; painted the exterior; repaired flooring; landscaped; installed porch railings; and dedicated a new sign. Total value of the project, including donated materials: $17,500. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Still Creek Ranch, 6055 Hearne Lane, Bryan TX 77808
Humble. 8 Quest High School seniors, working closely with Administaff and Lowe's, coordinated 200 volunteers from churches, high schools and businesses to complete major repairs for 5 elderly or disabled homeowners on fixed incomes. $50,000 in cash and donated labor and supplies financed the project. Among the tasks: patching a hole in a mobile home floor that was big enough for a raccoon to poke through; installing a shower for an 85-year-old woman with Parkinson's disease; repairing siding, termite damage and a foundation; and installing new appliances, flooring, carpeting and septic systems. The Humble Humanitarian Connection, as the home-repair project is known, will be an ongoing effort for Quest students. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Quest High School/Humble Humanitarian Fund, 18901 Timber Forest, Humble TX 77346
Newspaper awards
Arlington Morning News. Letter carrier Ann Marie Reber and daughter Denyse, 16, supplied paper, envelopes, pens and postage to 8 residents of the Brighter Tomorrows shelter for domestic violence and sex-abuse victims in Grand Prairie. The shelter residents wrote 33 thank-you notes and letters to relatives. The Rebers brought their own special-occasion china to serve refreshments, and mailed the women "No. 1 Mom" pictures their children colored while their moms wrote letters.
Athens Daily Review. 45 band members from Pine Tree High in Longview decided to repay their community for its ongoing support by collecting 200 books for kids at Ware Elementary, where 91% are disadvantaged. The teens also held a Make A Difference Day read-in for grade-schoolers.
Baytown Sun. 200 Shell Oil employees tackled 10 Houston-area projects, including painting, landscaping and home repairs, and repairing a gas leak at 1 site. They built a sidewalk and shed at a grade school; cleaned up 4 blocks of southeast Houston; and disposed of hazardous wastes like motor oil and pesticides. Some volunteers attended the kickoff of First Tee, a nationwide program to offer disadvantaged kids a chance to learn to golf.
Bryan-College Station Eagle. Students at A&M Consolidated Middle School in College Station collected comfort items for Habitat for Humanity workers such as hot chocolate, bug spray, sunscreen and garbage bags. On Make A Difference Day, they delivered enough items to a Habitat building site in Bryan to last through spring.
(Clute) Facts. 8 women from the Circle of Sisters, a non-profit group, and 3 of their kids thoroughly cleaned the 2-bedroom home of a couple in their 70s in Brazoria. They installed new curtains, replaced tablecloths and dish towels, and donated a new sofa and houseplant to the low-income couple.
(Conroe) Courier. The Ladies Auxiliary of Montgomery County VFW Post 4709 collected 28 cases of food, plus $50 in cash, for a food bank in an 8-hour drive. Estimated value of the food: $700.
Corsicana Daily Sun. 13 members of the Lake Whitney unit of the American Legion Auxiliary treated 56 residents of Park Plaza Nursing Home in Whitney to a party complete with homemade desserts, music and bingo. Each resident received a spillproof cup and a ball cap or costume jewelry.
Denton Record-Chronicle. 5,000 volunteers turned out for 34 projects, including a citywide cleanup, landscaping, tree trimming and planting, graffiti removal, mural painting, and an Alzheimer's walk-a-thon. Food drives garnered 17,000 pounds of items for the Community Food Center.
El Paso Times. Hairdresser Laura Frescas urged salons to donate services or a percentage of the day's profits to charity. About 20 salons gave $1,000 to various causes, and Frescas styled the hair of 4 girls from Lee Moor Children's Home.
Galveston County Daily News. Moved to act by the death of a toddler in a house fire earlier in the year, 87 Dickinson High School students and 21 teachers, volunteer firefighters and community members installed 91 smoke detectors for needy homeowners in Dickinson.
Greenville Herald Banner. 500 volunteers framed, painted and mulched at Aunt Char's Kid Zone, a $180,000, 20,000-square-foot creative playground 2 years in the planning. The week-long build involved 1,000 volunteers, ages 10 and up; the largest turnout was on Make A Difference Day. The playground was dedicated the next day after a final cleanup and safety check.
Killeen Daily Herald. 200 people attended a health and informational fair at Lampasas Middle School, featuring booths staffed by agencies serving families in Lampasas County. Free for all: immunizations, toothbrushes, a hot dog lunch, and, thanks to high school cheerleaders, face painting. Lampasas County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program organized the 4-hour event.
Laredo Morning Times. 2 busloads of students, faculty and staff from George Washington Middle School delivered more than 3,400 food items collected during October to residents of Colonia Pueblo Nuevo. About 300 students helped.
Midland Reporter-Telegram. With the help of older church members who baked lots of goodies, First Baptist Church youth raised $1,875 at a bake sale at Home Depot for medical expenses of 3 students burned in a chemistry class fire at Robert E. Lee High. The bake sale inspired $600 in church-member donations to the expense funds. The most seriously injured burn victim attends First Baptist.
Orange Leader. 100 volunteers from the Chevron Phillips plant devoted 645 hours to filling the wish lists of 10 United Way agencies, including building 2 covered bus stops at low-income apartments, installing computer equipment for a literacy program and framing a Habitat for Humanity house. 2 $1,000 Wal-Mart grants helped buy supplies like paint for homeless shelter bedrooms and metal for an awning at an agency serving abused children.
Plainview Daily Herald. Maudine Miller, 77, and 5 grandchildren raised $622 at her seventh annual yard sale to support 3 orphan children in India. Because a "dustnado" storm kept crowds small, she continued the sale the next week, raising an additional $423.
Plano Star Courier. 25 Plano public library pages delivered more than 4 minivan loads of new and used clothing to CITY House, an emergency shelter for children 10-17 who are runaways or victims of abuse, neglect or homelessness. The pages also donated their $1,000 Wal-Mart grant to CITY House to buy gear for camping retreats.
Port Arthur News. 43 members of the Abraham Lincoln High Future Teachers of America scraped peeling paint off an elderly woman's home and freshened it with a coat of yellow paint. The teens also washed windows at the home. The project was 1 of 11 sites where more than 200 volunteers worked as part of the Port Arthur Beautification Commission's seventh Paint-a-thon.
Texarkana Gazette. 150 volunteers from Longview churches, high schools, colleges and community groups brushed 65 gallons of paint onto the houses of 6 elderly or disabled homeowners. $2,000 in supplies and power-washing was donated for the project, coordinated for the fourth year by Partners in Prevention. Volunteers have returned to 2 houses for follow-up projects.
Texas City Sun. 85 volunteers, mainly from St. Mary's Catholic Church, distributed wish lists to customers at 4 stores, collecting 3 truckloads of food and personal-care items, plus $1,200 in donations, for distribution by St. Vincent de Paul, which helps the needy with utility bills, food and clothing.
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Utah
$2,000 state awards
Ogden. 900 volunteers with the Golden Spike Chapter of the Utah Mentor Network donated 900 colorful fleece duffel bags to the Utah Foster Care Foundation to be given to kids in foster care. Inside, they packed thousands of gifts: pillows, hats, fleece blankets, gloves, sweats, socks, underwear, toothbrushes, books and toys. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Weber Human Services Foundation, 237 26th Street, Ogden UT 84401
Roy. Students from Calene Lucero's Unfolding Success classes at Roy High School -- courses that teach anger management, responsibility and interpersonal skills -- teamed up with students from Lucero's advanced-placement psychology classes to gather 200 G- and PG-rated videos and a VCR for a non-profit center that provides a safe haven for sexually or physically abused children. With cash donations, the students also supplied a new TV. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Roy High, 2150 West 4800 South, Roy UT 84067
Newspaper awards
(Ogden) Standard Examiner. Wielding picks and hoes, 30 nature-lovers braved rain and cold to blaze a new trail at the Ogden Nature Center's Mountain Road Sanctuary, gathering litter, weeding flower beds and planting wildflowers. Volunteers also repaired 300 feet of fallen fence.
(Provo) Daily Herald. American Legion Post 19 started building an "honor wall" to recognize 400 veterans buried in Lehi Cemetery. This is the final phase of the memorial; when it's dedicated May 28, the names of all the dead will be engraved.
(St. George) Daily Spectrum. Inspired by The Quiltmaker's Gift, a story about an old woman who gave her quilts to the poor, fifth-graders organized their school community -- 200-300 students, parents and staffers -- to knot 107 quilts in the lunchroom on Make A Difference Day.
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Vermont
$2,000 state awards
Starksboro. Children who earned a $2,000 grant as Make A Difference Day state award recipients in 1999 used that money to make their "Kits for Kids" project even bigger in 2000. Sixth-graders in Donna Shepardson's class at Robinson School, plus community volunteers, packed 280 bags for children entering foster care. The bags included 280 outfits -- usually sweatshirts and pants, so they'll have something to sleep in the first night -- shampoo and conditioner, brush and comb, soap and toothpaste, a book, a journal and pen, and a teddy bear. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Robinson School, 41 Parsonage Rd, Starksboro VT 05487
Vergennes. 46 members of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Vergennes tackled several projects, including collecting 9 boxes of clothing, dozens of winter coats, 9 crates of canned and dried food and 2 boxes of toiletries for agencies serving the needy, and delivering meals to seniors and shut-ins. The group also used a $1,000 Wal-Mart grant to start an ongoing project to provide medical equipment like wheelchairs and walkers to the needy disabled. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Boys and Girls Club of Greater Vergennes, 5 Third Street, Vergennes VT 05491
Newspaper awards
Bennington Banner. 15 volunteers from schools and the community stressed the importance of reading via skits starring Mimi the Clown and Smokey Bear during a live performance for a local-access cable TV show. The program, part of the AmeriCorps*VISTA America Reads Initiative sponsored by the Bennington County Retired Senior Volunteer Program, has since become a regular monthly Channel 12 feature.
Brattleboro Reformer. 32 runners in a 5K race in Springfield raised $526 to buy art and literacy supplies for 30 in-home child-care providers served by the Springfield Area Parent Child Center. Charlene Peavey, an AmeriCorps Action for Children Today member, organized the event.
Burlington Free Press. 50 teenagers from St. Mark's and St. Joseph's Catholic churches and the Catholic Center at the University of Vermont prepared a hot breakfast for 60 homeless adults, then washed windows, vacuumed and decorated for a party at a shelter run by the Committee on Temporary Shelter. The teens entertained 2 dozen children at the shelter by making bead jewelry, playing indoor games and hosting a cookout.
(White River Junction) Valley News. American Legion Auxiliary, Bradford Unit 20, junior members Katelynn Messenger, 12, and sister Blakelee, 8, spearheaded a month-long drive that collected clothing that stacked 2 feet high on 7 long tables. 2 adult auxiliary members helped the girls sort and distribute the clothes to 50 people who'd heard about the giveaway through radio announcements and bulletin board postings.
Virginia
$2,000 National Encore award
University of Virginia and Miami University of Ohio. Twin brothers challenged their colleges to do the most good; the rivalry received a 1999 national award. The twins graduated, leaving legacies: In October, Ohio participation rose to 2,000; participation in Virginia soared to 5,000 in 23 projects. $2,000 award from Gannett Foundation to benefit UVA Alumni Association/The University Fund for Make A Difference Day and the Community Counseling and Crisis Center in Oxford, Ohio. Want to make a donation? Write to: The UVA Alumni Association/The University Fund for Make A Difference Day, Attn: Bonnie Ford, P.O. Box 3446, Charlottsville, VA 22903
$2,000 state awards
Fredericksburg. Reading specialist Julie Allen had tried everything at Ferry Farm Elementary School to get kids to log more time reading. She knew they shouldn't be rewarded monetarily, but decided it might be all right to make money for a cause. She challenged 650 pupils to keep a log and gather pledges for the time they spent with noses in books from Oct. 12-22. 86 kids completed the mission, gathering an average $25 per reader, reading an average 2 1/2 hours and scoring $2,114.89 for charity. Oct. 28, Allen and some of the project's top readers delivered items they purchased with the money to a homeless shelter, a transitional housing facility and a nursing home. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Central Rappahannock Regional Library/Children's Literacy Program, 1201 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg VA 22401
Woodbridge. For months, Tommy Fabricius, 46, an alcoholic with no place to go, lived in the woods with other homeless. In August 1999, with the help of volunteers, he entered a shelter and a 12-step program. Oct. 28, Fabricius and 5 other formerly homeless men in the Volunteers of America Chesapeake Men's Transitional program helped ready a winter homeless shelter for the season. The men collected personal items, built shelves and bunkbeds, and unpacked sheets, towels, blankets, clothes and coats for the 32-bed shelter. The $2,000 award from Wal-Mart benefits Volunteers of America-Chesapeake, 14945 Jefferson Davis Hgwy, Woodbridge VA 22191
Newspaper awards
Alexandria Journal. The city's volunteer bureau motivated 1,200 walkers and 100 volunteers to fight breast cancer by raising $100,000 for mammograms -- enough to ensure that 150 to 200 women will be screened free of charge.
Arlington Journal. 3 churches and Boy Scouts from Troop 149 collected 187 bicycles for Pedals for Progress, which donates them to charities and bicycle-repair training centers overseas.
Bristol Herald Courier. 30 kids, parents and faculty from Gilbert Linkous Elementary School spruced up the grounds around their school's 30-year-old playground. The Oct. 28 project was aimed at making the area ready for new equipment, which the PTA hopes to buy in the next few years.
(Charlottesville) Daily Progress. To raise $3,000 for a Habitat for Humanity house, 20 volunteers from Holy Comforter Catholic Church hosted a bazaar with members of other churches.
Culpeper Star-Exponent. 35 volunteers unpenned their energy to build several barns for 150 pigs at Mini-Pigs, a sanctuary for pot-bellied pigs. Owners Richard and Laura Hoyle run the non-profit, no-kill facility, the largest of its kind on the East Coast. "These are forgotten animals," Richard says. "Animal-rescue people say they aren't house pets, and farm-rescue people say they aren't farm animals. They fall through the cracks."
Danville Register & Bee. 50 George Washington High School swimmers plunged into giving free swimming lessons; collecting ponytails for "Locks of Love," which collects hair for wigs for cancer patients; and gathering 317 pounds of canned goods for a pantry.
Fairfax Journal. 15 members of the Golden Key National Honor Society at George Mason University jazzed up the pediatrics ward at a hospital by decorating the halls and entertaining 40 patients with goodie bags of coloring books, bubbles, Play-Doh, puzzles and games.
(Fredericksburg) Free Lance-Star. 5 ladies of an informal helping-hands group, dubbed the "Operation Smile Club," brightened the day of an elderly, diabetic Spotsylvania County woman who lost many of belongings when they mistakenly were thrown away. The women delivered a box of dresses, shoes, purses and jackets Oct. 28.
(Lynchburg) News & Advance. 8 teens from the Emmanuel United Methodist Church Youth Fellowship combed orchards for a ton of apples to donate to the needy.
(Staunton) Daily News Leader. 19 members of the VFW Ladies' Auxiliary in Greenville served lunch for 92 nursing home residents. The group also wrote checks totaling $5,000 to charities, including a rehabilitation center, hospital, 2 fire departments and the Girl Scouts.
Suffolk News-Herald. 30 Nansemond River High students provided needed elbow grease for a variety of projects at the YMCA -- they cleaned floors and vehicles, spread gravel, installed pool covers and decorated a day-care facility.
(Waynesboro) News Virginian. 20 Waynesboro Junior Woman's Club members aimed to make the city's library more child-friendly. They held a carnival to raise money, books and awareness about children's literacy, and raised about $200 to help hire a chil |
Honorees
