On Sunday, volunteers around the country united to participate in the largest community service effort in the nation — Make a Difference Day.
USA Weekend Magazine created Make a Difference Day 19 years ago to encourage volunteer projects in communities, according to the Make a Difference Day Web site. The event is on the fourth Sunday in October.
About 4,000 Albuquerque volunteers participated in Make a Difference Day events this year, said Debra Saine, manager of the Mayor’s Office of Volunteerism and Engagement.
Some groups that participated include Sandia National Labs, the Miss America Organization and the Albuquerque Academy.
There were over 100 projects throughout New Mexico for volunteers to choose from, including a Big Brothers Big Sisters Halloween carnival and doing maintenance work at Casa Esperanza — a house that provides temporary residence to cancer patients and their families.
Mike Gallegos, volunteer coordinator for Casa Esperanza, said the house has been a part of Make a Difference Day for more than 14 years. This year, volunteers came from Sandia National Labs and the Albuquerque Academy, he said, and the volunteers helped paint fences, cleaned and raked leaves.
“We got a lot of stuff done,” Gallegos said. “It was great. We had more stuff to do than I thought we were going to have, and we accomplished a lot.”
Organizations could request help from volunteers by registering with Make a Difference Day, Gallegos said. Organizations provided information about the work that needed to be done, and then put it into an online database for volunteers to claim projects, he said.
Nicole Miner, Miss New Mexico 2009, spent the day at Casa Esperanza. Volunteers performed yard work, painted rooms and raked leaves. Miner provided teddy bears, candy and games for the children at Casa Esperanza. She also brought casseroles, salsa, rice and desserts for volunteers.
“I really wanted to touch lives in Casa Esperanza because they impact peoples’ lives every day, and I wanted to be a part of that,” Miner said.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving also held their annual walk-a-thon, “Walk like MADD,” during Make a Difference Day.
Lora Lee Ortiz, executive director of MADD New Mexico, said having the walk on Make a Difference Day reminds everyone that a community-wide effort is necessary to reduce drunk driving.
“The main issue is to make people aware of the plan they should have for their lives,” she said. “One in three lives is affected by drunk driving. You have to make people aware of what they can do to give back and make sure that these situations are avoided.”
Ortiz said she has been a part of this event for five years and will keep doing it for many more.
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“In order to make a community prosper, you have to consider all aspects,” Ortiz said. “You need to think ‘How can I give back to the community?’ By volunteering, we are able to make Albuquerque a place that really prospers and is a place that people want to live.”
