Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/734304
Fall 2016 — www.ncsf.com 5 national president's Message • pick up trash at a local park, school, or trail. • rake your neighbors' leaves. • volunteer at a food bank. • Knock on neighborhood doors to collect food to donate to the food bank. • Make homemade cards to give to residents at the local nursing home. • organize and host bingo night at the local nursing home. (Call the nursing home first!) • Get a small group together to go sing at the local nursing home. (Call the nursing home first!) • volunteer to serve food at a local soup kitchen. • cook a homemade meal to bring to your local Ronald McDonald House or to someone who is grieving. • organize a game night at the local Ronald McDonald House. (Call your local Ronald McDonald House for ideas.) • contact your local boys and Girls club or YMcA to see what you can do to help. • volunteer to help tutor at the local boys and Girls Club, women's shelter, or other organization that may need help. • clean shelves or organize books at the local library. (Give the library a call, they'll have something for you to do!) • call your local thrift store to see if they need help sorting donated items. • Make homemade Christmas ornaments to donate to your local women's shelter, nursing home, or hospital. • Make blankets to donate to your local children's hospital. • Knit infant hats for the babies in the neonatal unit. • Host a lemonade stand or bake sale and donate the proceeds to a local charity. • Write thank you cards and/or draw pictures for members of the military. • volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. (Anyone 16 and older can participate.) • start a Facebook campaign with your friends to collect used books to donate to a women's shelter, homeless shelter, etc. • call your local animal shelter to see if you can help brush animals, clean kennels, or anything else. • Make cookies and deliver them to your neighbors – especially that widow down the street. • clean out your closet and donate your unwanted items to your local thrift store. • clean/sanitize the toys at the nursery of your church. (Or any local church.) Lots of tips to get your ideas flowing! OCtOBeR 22, 2016 MAKiNG A diFFeReNCe Every year, the fourth Saturday in October is Make a Difference Day. Initiated in 1990, this is a national day that is devoted to helping others by doing volunteer work in the community. As a member of NCSF, you might already be involved in many worthy causes by volunteering through your church or through your NCSF court, but Make a Difference Day especially focuses on community projects. Sometimes people gather for cleanup, fixup, painting, and repair projects in poorer neighborhoods, parks, and municipal facilities. Other people help a non-profit organization, their community, a nursing home, a church, a library, a food pantry, or any other group in need. The activity can be almost anything. For instance, a crisp October Saturday morning might be the perfect time to pick up litter along a stretch of highway or in an area park. Millions of Americans participate in community improvement projects. Join the crowd! Regardless of what project you take on, you can make a difference on Make a Difference Day! We are always encouraged to be volunteers in some way. And, as you will read on page 14 of this magazine, volunteering is actually a very healthy thing to do! The following list gives just a few ideas. I am sure that many of our NCSF members are doing other volunteer activities that could be added to this list! NATIONAL PRESIDENT MARGARET "PEGGY" SCHMITT