Make A Difference in Your Community

By Lt. Governor Joe Maxwell 

	Volunteering to help others and to make the community a better
place.  This was the purpose of the service completed by the Habitat for
Humanity St. Louis volunteers I worked with in Wellston, Sat. 21st. These
individuals gave of themselves to help a mother and her two young children
have a home to call their own.  Habitat for Humanity has already helped over
120 families in St. Louis, and I'm just thankful to be a small part of
building one more home.

	Imagine for a moment a time when everyone did as these Habitat for Humanity
volunteers, and put aside individual differences to work together for the
betterment of their community. Neighbors would be working alongside one
another in making their city a better place to live.  This is more than an
ideal situation, it is part of the purpose of Make A Difference Day, the
"national day of doing good."

	This year Make A Difference Day will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2002.
The past few years, over two million Americans have volunteered annually
through Make A Difference Day projects, helping an estimated twenty-five
million people.  Last year I had the opportunity to work alongside many
groups in the St. Louis area with their projects.  These included free
health screenings by the staff of the People's Health Community Center and
the Grace Hill Americorps in their work at Bethlehem Church.  Each of these
groups was able to make an impact on their community. They worked to improve
its physical appearance and touch the lives of those within the community.
 	
	This year more than one million citizens are already committed to
spending this upcoming October making a difference within their communities
through various service projects and activities.  As Chairman of the
Missouri Community Service Commission, I encourage you to join in these
efforts to make our local communities and Missouri a better place through
volunteer service.  Additionally, your participation has the opportunity to
help charitable causes into the future. Upon the completion of the project
you can send in an entry form for a national or state award and for a cash
donation to a specific charitable cause.

	Volunteers can either help with an existing project in their area or create
their own unique project that fits the needs of their local community.
Anyone who is interested in helping with an already existing project in or
near your community, can access the Make A Difference Day website at
http://makeadifferenceday.com/. If you are interested in starting your own
project for yourself or a group, but would like project ideas or
suggestions, you can read about past projects or use the Idea Generator on
this website as well.  Additionally, if you are creating a Make A Difference
Day project, please register your project on the website.

	Once again I would like to encourage you to participate in Make A Difference
Day.  By combining our efforts and volunteering, we will touch the lives of
others and make Missouri and our community a better place to live.