Once a year, USA Weekend partners with Points of Light and Newman’s Own to promote the nation’s largest day of volunteering, Make a Difference Day. This year, #MDDAY will take place on Saturday, October 25, and will consist of thousands of projects happening simultaneously across the country. If you’re a volunteer, find a project near you and get involved! If you’re a nonprofit, plan a day-long special activity that people can volunteer for. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to increase awareness for your cause, not to mention the chance to win $10,000!
Here’s how it works. Organizations (or individuals) should find a need in their community, and think about ways they could help that need. Next, plan a day of volunteering for Oct. 25 and register your project on makeadifferenceday.com. This way, other volunteers can see what projects are happening in their area and sign up to help out. After the event, go back to makeadifferenceday.com and fill out a simple form describing what took place and the impact you witnessed. You can then mail this form to USA Weekend, who will review the entries and announce 10 National Awardees and 1-3 Community Awardees in a special Volunteer Week issue of USA Weekend in April, 2015. Each Awardee will receive $10,000 from Newman’s Own at a special event in Washington, D.C.
Worried you won’t have time to plan everything but still want to organize a project in your area? Don’t stress! Makeadifferenceday.com has downloadable planning guides, links to groups offering support and supplies, and even a tool kit of press materials. You can even look at some of the projects from past #MDDAY’s and see the amazing stories that resulted.
Get involved with the nation’s largest day of volunteering here, and don’t miss this chance to make a difference in your local community!