> Volunteers spend a day creating a better world 9/28/01
> Response to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 9/28/01
> Most projects will go on as originally planned 9/28/01
> You can help online 9/28/01
> Musicians ask fans to volunteer 9/28/01
> Something for -- and from -- everyone 9/28/01
> Powerful government, state and city efforts 9/28/01
> Students volunteer 9/28/01
> Literacy efforts 9/28/01
> A project needn't be large to have an impact 9/28/01
> Easy ways to help 9/28/01

Volunteers spend a day creating a better world
On one Saturday in October, millions of volunteers across the nation -- and around the globe -- simultaneously will clothe, feed, educate, entertain, comfort and lift the spirits of an estimated 30 million. They'll restore, renovate and repair. They'll pamper, plant and promote. Saturday, Oct. 27, is the 11th Make A Difference Day, the nation's largest day of community service. The day is sponsored by USA WEEKEND Magazine in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation and the Volunteer Center National Network. It is held on the fourth Saturday of every October. (Those with religious observances on Saturday will participate Oct. 28.) It's not too late to get involved. Thousands of projects are registered at an on-line database at makeadifferenceday.com, where projects can be searched by state, ZIP code or key word. Many organizers still need volunteers.

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Response to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
A high priority for many volunteers: Those affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. From the Bible Truth Church in Palm Bay, Fla., collecting Red Cross-recommended supplies for rescue personnel to students at Wrightsville Beach Elementary School in Wrightsville Beach, N.C., deciding to donate recycling funds to victims relief rather than buy software for their school, Americans will remember the victims and their rescuers. Other projects: Fifth and sixth graders at Lounsberry Hollow Middle School in Vernon Township, N.J., will wear red, white and blue friendship bracelets, sell lollipops ("Let's Lick Terrorism") and collect loose change for a relief fund for NYC firefighters. Honors students at Central Michigan University plan to do yard work or housecleaning for community residents in exchange for a donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. In Killeen, Texas, home of Fort Hood, the nation's largest military base, efforts inspired by the attacks are being added to the long-planned project list. Organizers are trying to remain flexible in case deployments thin the ranks of Killeen's hoped-for 15,000 volunteers, a possibility faced by many bases that traditionally use the day to connect with their civilian communities. In light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, BJ's has changed its focus from needy babies to children affected by the attacks:Ê Stop by one of 122 BJ's Wholesale Clubs in 15 states to dress a 6-inch Snuggle Bear with red, white and blue ribbon and pen a note to a child who lost a parent in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.Ê The notes and bears, in bags also decorated by shoppers, will be given to the Feed the Children Foundation for distribution; Unilever is donating 6,100 Snuggle bears.

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Most projects will go on as originally planned
Some volunteers are responding to devastating local events. Touched by descriptions of summer flood damage from Willie "Billy" Rose, one of the Rocket Boys of October Sky fame, Emily Douglas seeks 15,000 books to restock two school libraries in West Virginia's Appalachian region. The teenager is using Grandma's Gifts, a nonprofit she founded nine years ago in honor of her grandmother, who grew up in Appalachia and instilled in Emily the knowledge that folks in that part of the country don't have the resources of those who live in comfortable suburbs. She is getting help from groups in her hometown and schools throughout Ohio. Many projects have a personal impetus. Nicholas Marriam felt special when his best friend's mom delivered candy, toys and a disposable camera before an in-patient treatment session at Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C. When he heard of Make A Difference Day at camp this summer, he determined to spread that feeling. He and his mother are collecting toiletries and treats for Children's 27-bed oncology ward. They'll also give doctors and nurses buttons declaring, "I make a difference every day." Still other projects require know-how and know-who. Mary Barclay convinced contractors and building suppliers in her small town to construct a new home for a 56-year-old retarded woman employed at her agency, an undertaking worth an estimated $50,000 in donated labor and supplies. The Bremen Junior Woman's Club will provide furnishings, and a church youth group will complete landscaping on Make A Difference Day. "People really do want to help," Barclay says. "They want to know that they are making a difference."

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You can help online
Raise money for worthy causes by joining the on-line auction at missionfish.com, an e-Bay style enterprise that funds nonprofits. The special Make A Difference Day auction, which began Oct. 15, continues through Nov. 5, with proceeds benefiting local charities and participating volunteer centers. Last year, the auction raised $20,000 for 27 nonprofits. Among items available this year: Super Bowl tickets; a baseball signed by Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers; tickets to see comedian Will Durst at the D.C. Improv; a lunch date with commentator Arianna Huffington; signed NASCAR items from Joe Gibbs Racing team of Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte; a "Law & Order" script signed by the cast. Other Web projects: At kidssavingtheplanet.com, sign a pro-environment petition to be forwarded to world leaders. At web4edu.com, turn empty printer ink cartridges into cash for computer equipment for schools.

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Musicians ask fans to volunteer
The rock band Journey urges its fans to help children on Make A Difference Day. Guitarist Neal Schon, a founding member of the band, believes the recent terrorist attacks have opened people's eyes to the suffering and needs of others, and that Make A Difference Day provides a perfect opportunity for responding to those needs. "It's a good day to just look around and try to help some people or cheer some people up that could use it," he says.Ê "Take yourself away from yourself for a second and get involved with someone else." For more Journey information, visit brightstarfoundation.com. While there, check out information about The Kinleys, country music's twin sister act, which asks its fans to develop local projects to benefit animal shelters. On Make A Difference Day, Heather Kinley plans to volunteer at the Nashville animal shelter.Ê Her only qualm:Ê She'll be tempted to bring home yet another "foster" pet.Ê She already has three dogs and a cat and has cared for many more while finding them good homes. "I think it's wonderful," she says of the 11th Make A Difference Day.Ê "If everyone just does good for one other person, or an organization, something they believe in, just makes one small change -- if everyone does that, what a difference itÊ can make ..."

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Something for -- and from -- everyone
Harrah's Entertainment and its 25 casino-hotel properties in 12 states will focus on senior citizens. In Las Vegas, 200 Harrah's volunteers will paint, vacuum, clean ovens, check fire alarms and anything else on the wish lists of seniors at a low-income apartment complex. Casino headliners will entertain. And in Denver, 2,400 Frontier Airlines employees will raise money for domestic violence victims and help at three women's shelters. To encourage donations of time as well as cash, Frontier will give $10 to the Denver-based National Domestic Violence Coalition for each act of employee volunteerism between Sept. 9 and Make A Difference Day. Working with the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Project based at Howard University, New Life Seventh Day Adventist Church in Rockville, Md., will sign up African-Americans to be organ and bone marrow donors. New Mexico March of Dimes chapters and local health departments will staff booths at Kmarts to publicize low-cost health coverage for children, continuing a national March of Dimes initiative introduced last year. In Detroit, 15 inner-city girls aged 12-17 will pamper residents of Peggy's Place, a shelter for homeless women and their children, with manicures, hair-braiding, tea and cookies, and a break from parenting duties. The girls are members of Project SIS, a group aimed at preventing the kinds of behavior -- violence, drug abuse and teen pregnancy -- that forces women to turn to the shelter in the first place. In Washington, D.C., hairstylists, manicurists, barbers, a massage therapist and a chef will fuss over 10 grandparents who are raising their grandchildren due to substance abuse by the parents. The youngsters will enjoy an outing, pizza and a movie accompanied by volunteers from Foster Grandparents, one of several Corporation for National Service components opening their service year on Make A Difference Day. For its first Make A Difference Day, the United Way of the Central Coast is adopting a Santa Maria mobile home park where low-income seniors live. Auto mechanics, veterinarians, beauticians, barbers and handymen will be on hand to serve the seniors. And at the Tullanoma, Tenn., mall, motivational speaker Anna Johnson will again invite townspeople to write a note to someone who needs encouragement or a pat on the back; 1,300 mailed notes last year. New this year: A Tullanoma U.S. Postal Service employee will be on hand to cancel stamps with a special Oct. 27 pictorial cancellation -- an envelope with the phrase, "Encouraging Words Make A Difference."

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Powerful government, state and city efforts
The Corporation for National Service, which uses Make A Difference Day as the start of its service year, is sending 50,000 AmeriCorps volunteers out on the day. Add in volunteers from Learn and Serve programs and the Senior Corps (Foster Grandparents, RSVP and Senior Companions), and CNS estimates a potential 1 million volunteers on Oct. 27. In one project, the Mississippi Attorney General's Office will be working with AmeriCorps members to educate children and parents on dangers of the internet.Ê Volunteers will staff public libraries across the state providing info on internet safety and potential for exploitation and harm.ÊÊ Broad statewide efforts, often led by the governor, lieutenant governor or First Lady, are under way in Delaware, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Such efforts generate massive numbers of volunteers and projects. Michigan hopes to exceed last year's 85,000 volunteers on 600 projects; tiny Delaware expects 9,000 volunteers. Organizers in London predict 30,000 will turn out for 1,500 projects across the United Kingdom, including first-time participants in Wales and Scotland. In Hanau, Germany, 500 soldiers and family members from the 414th Base Support Battalion will collect food and clothes for Romanian and Bosnian refugees; rewire, paint and clean a base community center; serve lunch at a Hanau homeless shelter, and help at local orphanages. The idea to participate arrived with a new volunteer director previously stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Los Angeles residents will show community pride on four consecutive Saturdays, lifting spirits in 10 low-income neighborhoods with home renovations, cleanups, community gardens, murals and clearing a future playground site. Organizers expect 30,000 volunteers, including Mayor James K. Hahn. In Boston, 8,000 volunteers led by City Year will tackle 24 projects in depressed neighborhoods, including cleanups, graffiti removal, mural painting, trail cleaning and community gardening. Phoenix officials expect 4,000 volunteers in its first citywide effort. Among those giving back: The state's largest newspaper, The Republic; and 50 inmates from the Arizona Federal Corrections Facility, who will make flash cards for adult education classes and disabled children. Along Maryland roadways, 5,000 Adopt-A-Highway volunteers will banish litter."

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Students volunteer
In college towns, students in record numbers will serve, including members of Students in Free Enterprise and Golden Key Honor Society, whose national organizations encourage participation. At Ohio State University, 400 freshmen applied for 100 spots for the annual bus trip to the school's Make A Difference Day football opponent -- this year, Penn State. In State College, Pa., the Ohio students will sleep on a gym floor, rising at 5 a.m. to meet 100 Penn State volunteers, tackling eight projects before lunch and the game at 12:30 p.m. Young people will be out in force. In Bradenton, Fla., 30 ManaTEENS will kick off the group's latest endeavor, providing automobiles and auto mechanic skills for disadvantaged youth; almost 1,000 ManaTEENS will tackle seven other projects. 2000 youth in Omaha, Neb., will help in a citywide cleanup. In New City, N.Y., 700 teens from four synagogues will unite for 50+ Mitzvah Day projects organized by the Rockland County JCC.

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Literacy efforts
Literacy is the focus for many groups, from Altrusa International, with dozens of its 389 U.S. chapters and a handful of those abroad planning efforts, to Executive Women International, with 76 reading rallies set across the country. For the second year, Pizza Hut will encourage its nearly 50,000 BOOK IT! classrooms to develop literacy-related projects for the day; outstanding projects will be recognized with $14,500 in cash and prizes. The top three projects will get a visit from the costumed characters Leona and Lionel of the awarding-winning PBS series Between the Lions. About 1,400 classrooms participated last year. First Book, a nonprofit that connects disadvantaged children with their own books, and its partner, the U.S. Coast Guard, will deliver 2 million books to literacy programs in all 50 states in honor of the day, reaching 30,000 low-income children. Many books will be in children's hands by Oct. 27.

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A project needn't be large to have an impact
Jeannie Hambsch of the Tulsa suburb of Catoosa remembers her first radiation therapy session for breast cancer about a year ago.Ê The room was ice cold, and no one could be with her due to the danger of radiation exposure.Ê Hambsch felt more depressed than the day she got her cancer diagnosis. She decided to do something to let women in a similar situation know they weren't alone -- make lap quilts for warmth and comfort.Ê Eight women -- co-workers, including one who has never sewn, and their mothers -- and a businesswomen's group will help Hambsch make the quilts for two cancer treatment centers.Ê Says Hambsch: "I know it will make a difference to whoever gets them."

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Easy ways to help
Like to sew? Groups throughout the country are organizing sessions to make blankets for needy newborns or traumatized children (Project Linus, Binkie Patrol, Newborns in Need, to name a few). Can't thread a needle? No sewing required to help CUREchief Foundation make soft head coverings for chemotherapy patients. And if you're in California, many of the 44 chapters of the General Federation of Women's Clubs Juniors are stuffing teddy bears for trauma victims; trace pattern pieces or cut fabric for the seamstresses. Collections abound; there's one close to home. North Carolina's "Read and Feed" initiative seeks books and nonperishable food. In Kentucky, Oct. 27 is "Beef Stew Day," a push for emergency rations for 11,490 homebound or needy seniors. New Jersey's 80,000 state employees are collecting used cell phones for battered women and frail elderly. In Indianapolis, FosterCare Luggage for Kids will collect bags for battered women and the homeless. San Bernardino County, Calif., hopes to recycle 1 million beverage containers -- raising enough to purchase outerwear for 2,100 disadvantaged children.