Make A Difference Day 2010 was Saturday, October 23. We’ve heard a lot of great stories about different service projects around the nation, and we wanted to share them with you! Today’s post comes from Saxon Seay, a member of our Marketing and Events team at HandsOn Network.
As I was driving through the north Georgia “mountains,” I felt incredibly inspired and renewed. Each fall as the leaves on the trees change and surround my neighborhood with color, I think about the ways that change is good and can bring beauty, hope and transformation to the world.
True transformation is powerful. Witnessing such powerful change is one of the greatest things about being a part of the staff at HandsOn Network as we have a unique opportunity to bring change to communities around the country and world as we mobilize others in service.
For me, this fall kicked off with Make a Difference Day: the “National Day of Doing Good” on Saturday, October 23.
For 20 years, we (HandsOn Network) and USA Weekend magazine have partnered to sponsor Make A Difference Day. This effort has grown over the years to include over 3 million volunteers young and old, individuals and families, and people from every walk of life, in cities and communities large and small.
Two weeks ago we heard from Kienan Lacey of generationOn as she and a team from generationOn and Points of Light Institute traveled to Washington D.C. to lead the amazing generationOn launch. Hundreds of kids participated in a service walk at the Extra Mile – the only national monument recognizing important civic and service leaders in our nation. They learned about the heroes of the volunteering and service movement and then participated in service projects to “Make Their Mark” on the world.
Many of our 250 affiliates also lead service projects in celebration of Make A Difference Day. Their work was powered by Citi Group who aligned its fifth annual Global Community Day with Make A Difference Day to engage 47,000 volunteers in more than 100 countries in service projects!
From kids in D.C. to volunteers around the world, stories like these reinforce to me the potential and power of individuals to make real change. It’s clear that the thousands of projects planned in celebration of Make A Difference Day contributed to a greater national effort to build more robust education systems, protect green spaces and renovate public spaces among many other works.
Many, many thanks to all of you – our corporate and non-profit partners and our special volunteers – for getting HandsOn! and making a big difference in the lives of millions of your friends and neighbors this Make A Difference Day.
———————————————————————————————————————-
Get HandsOn Tag Challenge Update!
Yesterday’s Get HandsOn Tag Master was Jake Loggins! Jake has won a pair of round trip tickets on JetBlue, $25 for himself, and $100 for his favorite charity!
Today’s Celebrity Tag is ! Tag Craig for swag!
