Make A Difference Day is October 24th: What You Can Do In Your Town

While many of us have felt there has been a shortage of goodwill this year, we now have an opportunity to spread some of our own. The fourth Saturday of October is  National Make A Difference Day. This year, it falls on October 24th. On this day, organizations and individuals alike are encouraged to chip in and serve their communities. 

National Make a Difference Day was established in 1992 by USA Weekly Magazine as well as the non-profit organization Points of Light. Through their support, those companies have helped make this particular day one of the largest national community service days for over twenty years.

For those wanting to take part, check with local volunteer organizations to see which ones take part in this day of kindness and charity to see how you can help better impact your local community when National Make a Difference Day comes around.

Here are a few ideas -  help clean a local park or playground, make a donation to a local charity, volunteer at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, participate in a local beach sweep this Saturday through Clean Ocean Action, or volunteer to make check-in calls to people who are elderly or disabled through Contact Cape Atlantic.  Of course, if you cannot participate in an event, take time on this day to do even small acts of kindness, such as donating your change from your purchase at Wawa or CVS, calling an old friend, holding the door for someone, or even offering a kind word to someone.

We can also use the hashtag #MakeADifferenceDay on social media to spread awareness and inspire others to participate in the holiday. So let’s all do our part in helping out where and when we can, and make the biggest difference possible!