Washington, D.C. - AmeriCorps members, RSVP volunteers and service-learning participants across the country will spend Saturday, Oct. 28 making a difference with numerous community projects. Landscaping projects, trail maintenance, and food distribution are among the activities that members and volunteers will undertake for national observance of Make A Difference Day.

More than 700 volunteers, including 500 AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (AmeriCorps*NCCC) members will participate on Make A Difference Day in New Orleans. Volunteers will make much-needed improvements to three Recovery School District (RSD) schools. RSD, which is operated by the Louisiana Department of Education, is an organization dedicated to turning underperforming schools into successful schools. AmeriCorps*NCCC members and community volunteers will serve at three RSD schools: Douglass High School, Drew Elementary, and Rabouin High School. The projects will focus on interior painting and on-site school maintenance.

Other projects across the country include:

• Community Partnership—AmeriCorps members will partner with the Nonprofit Resource Center of Northern Arizona, the City of Flagstaff Conservation Program, and other organizations to coordinate volunteers for a variety of service projects organized by local civic and nonprofit groups. Volunteers will split wood and do yard work for the elderly, clean up public trails and recreation areas, tend community gardens, and prepare food boxes for the needy.

• Nursing Home Visits—RSVP volunteers and other volunteers in Port Charlotte, Fla., will visit nursing homes and assisted-living facility residents who rarely get their own visitors. Volunteers will visit one-on-one with residents.

• Garden Clean Up—The CommUNITY AmeriCorps team at Lincoln Action Program in Lincoln, Neb., will partner with Community CROPS to prepare the city's community gardens for the 2007 growing season. Volunteers will clean up this year's plots, spread compost, and clean up common areas in the gardens.

• Helping Nonprofits—More than 300 RSVP volunteers in Canton, Ohio, will serve at nearly 30 sites, including senior centers, hospitals, schools, the YWCA, the American Red Cross, and other nonprofit agencies, including Samaritan's Table, a soup kitchen that serves 525 individuals weekly. Projects include doing mailings at nonprofit agencies, helping with crafts and other activities in senior centers, and a bloodmobile program.

• Service-Learning—Thirty service-learning students participating in KIDSConnect, an after-school program for middle school students in Columbus, Ohio, will visit the local water treatment plant where the Manager of the Division of Water Reclamation will provide students with a wastewater tour and explain the purpose and importance of water treatment plants. Immediately following, students will participate in stream sampling with the Urban Forester of Canal Winchester. Students will conduct four tests (Dissolved Oxygen, pH, Turbidity, and Temperature) to test the water quality of Little Walnut Creek. After stream sampling, students will distribute flyers to local neighborhoods homes to educate the community on the benefits of developing the riparian corridor along Little Walnut Creek.

• Business Attire—RSVP volunteers in Aliquippa, Pa., are leading an effort to move the Professional Outfitters and Variety Shoppe into a larger building. On Friday, October 27, a local rehab center for youth will assist in bringing stored clothing and miscellaneous items to a new, larger location. Professional Outfitters provides free interview-appropriate clothing for low-income job seekers, along with tips on dressing for success, completing job applications and interviews, and sustaining employment. Upon reopening, mending and alterations will be available.

Make A Difference Day, the largest national day of helping others, is sponsored by USA WEEKEND Magazine and its 600 carrier newspapers. This marks the nation’s 16TH annual Make A Difference Day, which is held in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation. More information, including a listing of all projects across the country, is available at http://www.makeadifferenceday.com.

The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering, providing service opportunities for millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds. Corporation programs include Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov. Through its programs, the Corporation is spearheading an effort to increase the number of volunteers nationally by 10 million by 2010. National days of service are an integral part of increasing the number of volunteers. In addition to its involvement in Make A Difference Day, the Corporation is charged by Congress with encouraging service on Martin Luther King Day each January.

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