Lifelong lessons in sharing and caring
By MARLY KOSINSKI / Tribune ChronicleFact Box
Projects
Start cleaning out your closets and food pantries now for the following organizations who will be distributing or collecting items on Make A Difference Day:
n American Legion Auxiliary Unit 699 will collect pop tabs at the volunteer picnic.
n Champion Pride Council is collecting winter clothing for children at various locations in the township, including the fire station, school buildings, Champion Christian Church, Church of the Nazarene, Otterbein United Methodist Church and Grace Baptist Church.
n Cortland Playroom, 525 N. High St., is collecting new and used books to give to area agencies.
n Cortland Rotary Club will collect clothing at Lakeview High School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 25.
n Cortland Trinity Preschool and Daycare is collecting food and supplies for the Animal Welfare League. Donations can be dropped off through Oct. 31 at the school, 2576 McCleary Jacoby Road, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays.
n Members of First United Methodist Church of Niles, Southside Presbyterian and Trinity Lutheran will collect clothing door-to-door in Niles from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 25.
n Girl Scout Troop 324 is collecting supplies for the Animal Welfare League. To make arrangements to drop off items, call troop leader Melanie Jones at 330-898-1331.
n Girl Scout Service Unit 607 (Howland/Vienna) will collect food door-to-door in the two communities for SCOPE starting on Oct. 25 until Nov. 8.
n LaBrae students are collecting clothing and canned goods at the high school that will be donated to Warren Family Mission.
n Leavittsburg Church of God Youth Group will collect food for its pantry and holiday baskets from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 25.
n Cell phones are being collected for the Life Lite project at various locations in the county, including the Tribune Chronicle.
n Living Lord Lutheran Church is collecting paper towels, bathroom tissue, household cleaners, shampoo, soap and baby items for Your Pregnancy Resource Center. Items can be dropped off at the church, 851 Niles-Cortland Road N.E., between 8 a.m. and noon weekdays.
n Seven Seventeen Credit Union, 3181 Larchmont Ave. N.E., will collect food for Warren Family Mission from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 25.
n Southington Local Schools will collect clothing from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 24 that will be distributed on Make A Difference Day.
n The creative department at the Tribune Chronicle is collecting Yoplait yogurt lids for the Susan B. Koman breast cancer research fund. Yoplait donates 10 cents for every lid, which can be dropped off at the front desk of the Tribune Chronicle.
n The Warren G. Harding National Honor Society will take plastic bags to various streets asking for canned goods on Oct. 21 and will pick them up Oct. 24 for distribution to the Warren Family Mission.
When it comes to volunteering, area students earn an A-plus.
Hundreds of young people will participate in Make A Difference Day projects through their schools in an effort to expand their education beyond the classroom. The students, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, will collect food, supplies and clothing, and complete clean-up projects in honor of the national day of caring and volunteerism.
Make A Difference Day is sponsored by USA Weekend Magazine and the Points of Light Foundation and is held the fourth Saturday of October each year. This year, the 18th annual Make A Difference Day is set for Oct. 25.
The Trumbull County event is sponsored by the Tribune Chronicle, and this will be the newspaper's sixth year of sponsorship.
Newcomers to this year's event are the children at Cortland Trinity Preschool and Daycare. Colleen McCullough, who took over the daycare in July, said the kids range in age from 18 months to 5 years.
The children already have started collecting food and supplies for the Animal Welfare League, and the collection will continue until Oct. 31. Items will be dropped off at the shelter on Make A Difference Day, but the children will learn about pets and pet care during the week leading up to it.
"I think it's important for the kids to learn to help others, even if the recipients are four-legged instead of two," McCullough said.
The Howland Middle School Student Senate is participating in Make A Difference Day for the third time and also is collecting items for the Animal Welfare League. Adviser Susan Pappas said the last week of October is designated as "Red Ribbon Week," which stands for drug awareness and prevention, and they are tying the week into the volunteer event with a "Walk Away From Drugs" project.
On Oct. 29, people can bring their pets to Howland Township Park from 5 to 6 p.m. for a pet trick-or-treat event. Participation will require a donation, with all money donated to the shelter. Money also will be raised by students paying $1 to hang photos of their pet at the school during the week.
In addition to raising money, students during first period will collect items from the animal shelter's wish list and the first class to get all the items will get donuts and juice for breakfast, courtesy of the Student Senate. The group's other adviser is Jill Allison.
The LaBrae High School work-study program and participatory citizenship class are collecting food and clothing for the Warren Family Mission. In addition, the students have placed money donations cans throughout the school with the slogan "Your Change Can Make A Difference."
Special education teacher Janice Gibson said the project is an outward display of the community service stressed to the students all year.
"Volunteering and doing for others is an important life lesson for kids," Gibson said. She is being assisted by special education teacher Theresa Raeburn and government teacher Jim Varley.
Greg Christman, adviser for the Warren G. Harding robotics team, said his students have participated in Make A Difference Day for the past three or four years by adopting a highway - a 2-mile stretch of state Route 305 between the bike path and state Route 45. He said the project is just one of many the team members participate in throughout the year.
"Our students are always selling stuff and seeking donations and the community always comes through. This is their way to give back. Plus, volunteering gives the students a sense of purpose and accomplishment," Christman said.
His wife, Debbie Christman, is the adviser for Harding's National Honor Society and student government. The groups are collecting food for the Warren Family Mission, but the student government members are collecting in-house only, while NHS students are going out to the community.
Debbie Christman said the students picked the food drive project three years ago and have stuck with it. She said the class with the most donations will win a pizza party, noting her health class was in the lead as of Thursday.
Students in Southington will hold a clothing drive at the school's multi-purpose room on Oct. 25. Donations can be brought in from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 24, according to fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Mitchell.
She said several years ago, she noticed students that needed clothes and she started collecting clothes secretly with the help of other teachers. Mitchell said she decided to take the project large-scale and held a back-to-school clothing drive in August.
"After the August collection, we took 15 bags to the Warren Family Mission and that was after more than half were taken at the school," Mitchell said.
She said the drive on Oct. 25 will be a winter clothing drive and any clothes left over after the school event will be taken to the mission again.
"We sent fliers home to parents. Teachers bring stuff. The community brings stuff. The response has been fantastic," she said.
Lucia Flevares, adviser for Howland High School's Students Against Destructive Decisions, said her students will assist the Children's Rehabilitation Center with leaf raking and mulching. She said the group assisted the Center last year and she wanted to help there again because the staff was so appreciative and the kids enjoyed it so much.
"I have never seen my students so enthusiastic as when they are helping others," Flevares said.
