Pointlife
Photo courtesy of United Way of Portage County
Raking leaves can really make a difference
The Pointer
kshan945@uwsp.edu
On Oct. 24, people from all over the world will be altering their tight schedules in order to make a difference in someone’s life. Men and women will untie their ties, put their briefcases down and grab a rake in order to give hope and kindness to people in need. Make A Difference Day, a national day of doing good, is a chance to volunteer your time and effort and make a difference in someone’s life – whether it be raking leaves, helping out in a shelter, or sponsoring a food drive, a little thing goes a long way.
At the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, the Student Involvement and Employment Office and the United Way of Portage County are teaming up in order to make this year’s Make A Difference Day a success. On Saturday, Oct. 24, students and other volunteers will make teams to help rake leaves for people who are elderly or are in need of help from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. SIEO is also sponsoring a “free agent” team, that students can sign up to be a part of. Though teams are created for this task, you can make a difference by yourself – no need to be on a team. Just one person can make a huge difference.
Last year, Make A Difference Day thrived with over 3 million people worldwide taking part in making a difference. Just in the Stevens Point area, over 500 people volunteered to rake over 100 yards.
“When the United Way decided to start doing a community project for Make a Difference Day, they really thought about where the need was in the community for a large one-day event. At the time, there were a lot of people that needed help with their lawns because they were elderly, disabled, or otherwise couldn’t get the job done. This seemed to be a perfect fit for a day of volunteering according to Scott Winn,” said Shannon Williams, SIEO coordinator.
Though the event is turning out successfully so far, there is always room for improvement. The Volunteer Center Director of the United Way of Portage County has rules and regulations to follow in order to have this event run smoothly.
“Some highlights I am looking to speak to the community about are pre-registration for teams, more yards [to rake]- specifically for elderly and those with disabilities who struggle with this task,” said Scott Winn, Volunteer Center director. “We have remained flat with the amount of yards we have raked but doubled our volunteer numbers, often times that day we have people wanting more yards but simply given that we have 70 plus teams, 660 plus volunteers and 120 plus yards, the job is done quick. We have room for growth”
Winn is looking to everyone to volunteer some time to make a difference in the world. He is targeting groups of people in the community no matter what their mission to get involved.
“We want more volunteer teams – all shapes and sizes - youth groups, sports teams, poker buddies, the book club, workplace teams, church groups, etc. We are also serving a pancake breakfast. This is the first time we have ever done this,” said Winn.
So why would you give up your Saturday morning for this? Williams states the advantages of helping out with this great cause to the community.
“This really is a selfless act. It is purely an outreach of goodwill, a gift of time and good karma. To see the grateful looks on the homeowners’ faces is amazing. You wouldn’t think that raking a lawn would make such an impact but to the people who can’t rake the lawn themselves, it is a huge gift,” said Williams.
How can you get involved? Go to www.volunteersrock.org to sign up your team for this Rake-A-Thon Event for Make A Difference day, or contact SIEO about joining their free agent team.
