Make A Difference Day is an annual, nationwide event where communities everywhere come together on the fourth Saturday of every October to volunteer with local charities and non-profit organizations. This year, Make A Difference Day fell on a bright and sunny Saturday morning, Oct. 22 at Weigent Park in La Crosse.

Make A Difference Day is about people coming together to give a helping hand while supporting their community. This day aims to not only enrich the area with volunteer work but also to educate community members and students about all the many great service and volunteer opportunities in the La Crosse Area. It is also a great event that sought to connect enthusiastic members of the La Crosse communitynation-wide.

Volunteers for the local event had to pre-register online by going to Ugetconnected and choosing which volunteer project they wished to help out with. There were a wide range of community-driven service projects that people could sign up for. Some of the programs included pantry pep with that Salvation Army of La Crosse, garden clean up with The Hunger Task Force of La Crosse, tidy up team at the La Crosse Children’s Museum, playground equipment installation with Coulee Children’s Center, fall clean up at Bluff Country Farm Resources, Inc., and many more.

When participants arrived at Weigent Park at 10:30 a.m. on the day of the event, they were instructed to get checked in. Volunteers received a free t-shirt, snacks, and entries into different prize drawings. After everyone had successfully checked in, volunteers received further information on the project they had signed up for. Everyone then ventured out to their respective volunteer projects. Participants volunteered from 12 p.m until 3 p.m. Upon their return to the park, everyone celebrated the day’s hard work with food, music, and the announcement of the winners from the prize drawing.

Nicole Heinz, a student volunteer commented “I’m not here for a class or anything, I just like volunteering. I volunteer almost every week.” Heinz stated that volunteering makes her happy, “I’m making a difference in someone else’s life. It’s a warm and funny feeling.”

Make A Difference Day aims to celebrate the joy of neighbors helping neighbors. In the La Crosse event, three schools (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College) all unite to give a helping hand in their community. It is a chance for community members, internationally, to unite in a common mission to help improve the lives of others.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about this event,” said Megan Siekert, another student volunteer, “It feels really good knowing that that you’re helping others and the community.”

Make A Difference Day has been celebrated for 24 years nation-wide. It doesn’t have to be the fourth Saturday of October for one to go out and make a difference. Every day, community members have the power to change the world around them, whether that’s through aiding a friend, helping a neighbor, or taking the time to improve a community.