Good deeds to fill county on Saturday
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on October 17, 2004 2:04 AM
Food and supply drives, home construction, stuffed animals for domestic violence and fire victims, letters to deployed military -- these are just some of the many projects Wayne County residents will be doing Saturday for the 13th annual Make A Difference Day.
It is sponsored locally by the city of Goldsboro, Volunteer Wayne and United Way of Wayne County. It used to be the annual Day of Remembrance and Caring held each Sept. 11 to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks and help the needy of the county.
But this year it was changed to Hands On Wayne County to coincide with national Make A Difference Day, sponsored by USA Weekend magazine and the Points of Light Foundation.
The purpose of the event is to provide local businesses, the military, civic groups and individuals a personal way to learn more about their community and the agencies that serve the community, according to Barbara Stiles, director of Volunteer Wayne.
She said the day will rekindle and maintain the spirit of caring for others and an appreciation of community by doing projects for local nonprofit groups. The day will focus on community and working together to improve lives.
For those who cannot come out Oct. 23, projects may be done the week prior to that day, said Mrs. Stiles.
Ten projects nationwide will be chosen to receive a cash award of $10,000 each.
The day will begin with an opening ceremony at Waynesborough Historical Village at 8:30 a.m.
Members of Greenwood Middle School's band will play patriotic and military songs from 8:15 to 8:30 a.m. Refreshments of doughnuts, orange juice and coffee will be available for anyone attending.
During the opening, speakers will discuss the importance of the day. They include a county commissioner, Mayor Al King and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base's wing commander.
The deadline for agencies to register to have a project done has been extended until Oct. 22. Volunteers are encouraged to register by that date, too, but may even do so at the opening ceremony that day.
Some of the projects at Waynesborough Historical Village require tools and Make A Difference Day officials are looking for someone to donate the use of these tools for the day. Needed are weed eaters, clippers, pruners, rakes, wheel barrels, chainsaws and shovels.
Local schools doing projects for this year's Make A Difference Day are:
*Rosewood Middle -- the student government association is collecting items for hurricane victims.
*Tommy's Road Elementary -- first grade is doing flood buckets for flood victims; fifth grade is teaching financial responsibility; second grade is adopting 100 residents from the Pines to carve pumpkins and give the pumpkins to the residents and making Christmas cards and Valentine's Day cards for them.
*Northwest Elementary -- collecting items for school supply kits and hygiene kits.
*Charles B. Aycock -- collecting clothes for the Lighthouse of Wayne County.
*Rosewood High School -- collecting personal hygiene items, school supplies and supplies for disaster kits.
*Carver Heights Elementary -- making cards and lollipops to take to residents of Britthaven Nursing Home.
*North Drive Elementary -- collecting items for disaster supply kits for the Red Cross.
*Carver Elementary -- second grade is collecting items for Florida hurricane victims. Fourth grade is collecting change for the Make A Wish Foundation. Other classes are doing school improvement projects.
*Fremont STARS -- collecting canned food for flood victims in western North Carolina.
*Eastern Wayne High -- doing a coat drive and collecting items for hurricane victims.
*Meadow Lane Elementary -- collecting pet food and cat litter, doing letters to the elderly, collecting items for personal hygiene kits and writing letters to military in Iraq.
*Edgewood -- collecting items for disaster kits for flood victims in western North Carolina and doing school beautification projects.
*Eastern Wayne Elementary -- doing school improvement projects.
*Spring Creek Elementary -- holding a food drive for the Salvation Army.
*School Street -- doing school improvement projects.
*Brogden Primary -- collecting drink can tabs to support cancer research in honor of a staff member.
*Northeast Elementary -- doing school beautification projects, holding and holding a community ball tournament for the North Carolina Elementary Athletic Association.
*Brogden Middle -- collecting canned goods and making care packages for deployed military.
*Mount Olive Middle -- collecting food and personal items for the Salvation Army.
Others doing projects during the week include:
*4-H -- collecting stuffed animals for the Lighthouse of Wayne County, the American Red Cross and the police department, and collecting food items for and decorating lunch bags for Meals on Wheels for Veteran's Day.
*City of Goldsboro -- installing security door and bell on the Red Cross chapter house, doing outside maintenance at Kitty Askins Hospice Center and offloading food, stocking shelves and preparing food boxes for the Salvation Army.
*Seymour Johnson AFB -- doing outside maintenance and providing and installing bird houses at Kitty Askins Hospice Center, doing hygiene kits for MERCI warehouse, doing home construction work for Habitat for Humanity, repairing historical buildings at Waynesborough Historical Village and helping out at the Salvation Army's thrift store.
*Mount Olive College -- holding a school supply drive for Communities In Schools and doing hygiene kits for MERCI warehouse.
*BB&T, Goldsboro Youth Council, Girl Scout Troop 336 and the North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union -- holding food and paper products drives for the Soup Kitchen.
*Southern Bank -- doing hygiene kits for MERCI warehouse.
*Cub Scout Troop 258 -- doing flood buckets for MERCI warehouse.
*Wachovia Securities and Gold's Gym -- holding food drives for the Salvation Army.
*Goldsboro Housing Authority -- holding food and paper products drives for the Soup Kitchen and doing a coat drive for the Salvation Army.
*Phi Beta Lambda -- collecting cleaning supplies for Haywood Community College flood victims.
*Wayne Community College -- collecting food, clothing and cleaning supplies for Haywood Community College flood victims.
For more information, call 735-5151.