Ways To Help On Make A Difference Day In St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The fourth Saturday of every October is National Make A Difference Day, when good works take center stage as volunteers nationwide and all over the globe set aside some time to help others.

With the coronavirus pandemic causing unprecedented hardships in 2020, donating to, or helping at, food banks and food pantries can be even more important this year. Make A Difference Day — celebrated this year on Saturday, Oct. 24 — is an ideal time to volunteer at one of them.

Here are a few local food pantries and food banks in and near St. Petersburg that could use some help:

• Feeding Tampa Bay, 4702 Transport Dr, Tampa, has opportunities on Saturday that include volunteer for traffic control at Hillsborough Community College for the Hillsborough Mega Pantry. Other Saturday volunteer opportunities include serving breakfast and warehouse sorting. For full details, visit its volunteer calendar.
• St. Petersburg Free Clinic, 863 3rd Ave. N, St. Petersburg, offers food pantry volunteer opportunities. Zoom orientation must be attended before anyone is allowed to volunteer. For more information, check out St. Petersburg Free Clinic.
• The Kind Mouse, 1801 16th St. N, St. Petersburg, has food pantry and other volunteer opportunities to feed hungry children. For more information, visit its website.

The city of Goodyear, Arizona, is among the municipalities urging its residents to donate food on this Make A Difference Day. The city will host a Saturday morning food drive benefiting the local St. Mary's Food Bank.

"Many of our neighbors are facing significant challenges as a result of the pandemic," Evelyn Howell, a longtime volunteer in Goodyear, said in a statement. "Our community always rises to the challenge, and we're excited to give back during these challenging times."

In Illinois, Make A Difference Day came early this year. The Diocese of Joliet already has served more than 190 families in need with the Northern Illinois Food Bank and Catholic Charities.
"It was wonderful to kick off our #makeadifferenceday (a few days early!)," the Rev. Pat Mulcahy said on Twitter.

Making a difference can take many forms, so participation isn't limited in scope to feeding the hungry. Since its inception in 1992, Make A Difference Day has inspired hundreds of thousands to volunteer locally in countless capacities.

People can volunteer or donate to another charity, mentor someone, or even just say a kind word to someone struggling. Find a local charity to support.

Originally a project of USA Weekend magazine, organizations worldwide have formed their own local projects to carry on the torch.
Those include the United Way.

In Wisconsin, the United Way of Marathon County is making it a weeklong project to rake the yards for elderly and disabled citizens.
The Volunteer Center of San Gabriel Valley in Monrovia, California, has participated in Make A Difference Day since it began and will again have a handful of projects that volunteers can choose.

"We're having a first responder thank-you drive-up, in which people can give letters to us to show their appreciation or post on our wall themselves," said Macy Gracia, director of the volunteer center.

"We're also making wellness phone calls to seniors and having a senior car parade, where we will visit senior facilities and, hopefully, brighten up their day."

Whatever good people do, they are urged to use the #MakeADifferenceDay tag on social media to inspire others to do the same.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 54 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.