Et cetera : Make A Difference Day

Make A Difference Day is Saturday, October 27

By: Krista Eichhorst

Maybe you have heard about Make a Difference Day (MADD) and are wondering what it is all about. MADD is celebrated each year on the 4th Saturday in October. Created by USA WEEKEND Magazine, it is the nation’s largest day of volunteering, thanks to the passion of millions of people. The Corporation for National and Community Service encourages all of its AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs to serve in their communities on this day in support of MADD.

All five AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) campuses are participating in MADD events in communities in their regions. For the North Central Region campus in Vinton, Iowa this means that 185 members are serving 19 communities on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. These communities are in Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio.

Five NCCC teams are serving in Iowa on projects. Cedar 2 is in Vinton assisting the Vinton Parks and Recreation Department with their annual Halloween children’s costume parade and Cedar 4 is in Sioux City helping the Siouxland Historical Railroad Association with their Annual Halloween at the Roundhouse event. Maple 3 is clearing invasive species and setting up fences at the Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids while Maple 6 is assisting Miracles in Motion in Swisher with preparing for their 5K Race at Squak Creek. Maple 7 is collaborating with Camp Courageous in Monticello to do trail maintenance at the camp’s ropes course.

Three teams are in Minnesota and the Dakotas assisting three organizations. Cedar 5 is in Rapid City, South Dakota assisting the Black Hills Work Shop with their haunted house. Maple 2 is in Burlington, North Dakota assisting Lutheran Disaster Response with installing sub flooring in a church impacted by the 2011 flooding. The final team, Maple 4, is in Ottawa, Minnesota doing invasive species removal and cutting firebreaks at Ottawa Bluffs.

The campus has three teams serving three locations in the state of Michigan. Cedar 6 is in Rudyard building a boardwalk with the Hiawatha Shore to Shore Chapter of the North Country Trail. Oak 2 is working at Camp Kidwell, a 4H camp in Bloomingdale. The final team in Michigan is Maple 1 and they are helping construct homes with Habitat for Humanity of Marquette County.

Three NCCC teams are serving in Indiana. Cedar 1 is working at Hamilton Heights Elementary in Arcadia clearing debris, leveling land and repairing their outdoor auditorium. Oak 1 is rebuilding a community pavilion in Marysville that was damaged by a tornado and Maple 5 is assisting the Henryville Kiwanis Club with cleanup for homeowners affected by the tornado that devastated the city in March.

Three more NCCC teams are making a difference in Wisconsin. Oak 3 is working with Ozaukee Washington Land Trust in West Bend on a new nature preserve. Oak 6 is helping the elementary in Eagle with clearing a path from the school to the local library and Oak 7 is assisting the Orphan Kanines Animal Shelter in Racine.

Our final two teams are in Ohio. Cedar 3 is assisting Habitat for Humanity in Columbus with a Rock-the-Block community event. Oak 4 is serving at Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve helping with cutting and dragging brush and weeding at Buckeye Lake.

AmeriCorps NCCC encourages individuals to go out into their communities this Saturday and “Make A Difference”. For more information about MADD visit http://makeadifferenceday.com/.