Join statewide volunteers on Saturday, October 24 to celebrate Make a Difference Day!
Make a Difference Day reflects the power that volunteers have to “inspire by example” — volunteers both encourage those they help and motivate others to serve! Find out how you, too, can participate in the day’s many offerings. This special day offers opportunities to serve in many West Virginia communities.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to volunteer, visit www.volunteerwv.org to find an opportunity that matches your interests and geographic location!
See what some programs in West Virginia are doing this week:
LifeBridge AmeriCorps - In honor of Make A Difference Day, LifeBridge members in the Morgantown area will work with the United Way to facilitate home repairs for Community Repair Partners of Monongalia and Preston Counties. The group is working in conjunction with the WVU Center for Civic Engagement, who recruited WVU students as volunteers for the home repair projects. They will be installing a garage door on an elderly woman’s home for weatherization, providing a clean-up service to another elderly woman’s home, and installing new floors in a handicapped, elderly woman’s home. LifeBridge AmeriCorps members are also collecting food items to donate to food pantries statewide. To donate food in your area or to learn more about Make a Difference Day projects through LifeBridge AmeriCorps, contact Betsy Southall at (304) 340-3519.
Appalachian Forest Heritage Area - The Monongahela National Forest, Mountain State Grotto caving group, and Appalachian Forest Heritage Area AmeriCorps members are joining forces to clean up the Pink Helictite Cave sinkhole. Pink Helictite Cave has its entrance at the base of the sinkhole west of Durbin. The sinkhole had been used as a dump for many years. Sinkholes are directly related to groundwater quality. At Pink Helictite Cave sinkhole, water enters the cave from a spring that pours over the limestone cliff on one side of the sinkhole, and from overland run off that passes through the sinkhole. With the sinkhole filled with household trash, this water carries pollutants into the area’s karst groundwater system. This Make a Difference Day project will help clean out the trash to protect groundwater quality. Volunteers from the community are urged to participate in this Make a Difference Day project. Meet at 9 am Saturday, October 24 in the parking lot behind the Monongahela National Forest headquarters at 200 Sycamore St. Elkins, WV to carpool to the Pink Helictite cave sinkhole cleanup. For Pocahontas County, volunteers can meet at the Marlinton Ranger Office by 9 am. Wear sturdy shoes, dress for the weather, and bring a lunch. Trash bags and gloves will be provided. For directions to meet directly at the site, or for more information, see www.appalachianforest.us/volunteerism or call Linda Tracy, US Forest Service at work (304) 636 1800, ext 275.
Project FLOW (Future Leaders of Watersheds) - See what West Virginia’s youth are doing to serve their communities while learning about watershed health. Contact Sherry Swint at (304) 558-0111 for details.
Southern Appalachian Labor School - Members of the SALS (Southern Appalachian Labor School) organization will be repairing a porch for an elderly lady in the Oak Hill region. In addition, After School kids and a coordinator will visit the elderly and help them make crafts and read books. Care packages will be given to community members and SALS staff and other volunteers from Tennessee participated as volunteers for Bridge Day on October 17. For more information or to get involved, please contact SALS by emailing bx35222@citynet.net.
Jobs for a Stronger Ohio County - AmeriCorps members and volunteers will be working on community gardens, housing rehabilitations, building clean-up, and assisting the Catholic Neighborhood Center. For more information on how to participate, contact Rev. Fran Lane-Lawrence at (304) 232-2630.
USA Weekend Magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation are joining forces for Make a Difference Day this year. Through October, entertainers have written essays about why they support the “I Participate” initiative. Visit www.iparticipateusa.org to read these essays.
Want to know more about Make a Difference Day?
Visit the USA Weekend web site for more information.