Record turnout for “Make-a-Difference Day”

Logs, branches and twigs comprised a menacing pile about 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and five feet high in the southeast corner of a vacant lot in Kalamazoo’s Eastside neighborhood, reports the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Undaunted by its size, a team of a half-dozen volunteers made numerous treks from the pile to a wood chipper and back, eliminating the mound in less than an hour. Eventually, the parcel will become an eco-garden, a community vegetable garden and small forest featuring indigenous growth exclusively.

The scene of students and neighborhood volunteers working together Saturday played out in 23 sites around Kalamazoo County as part of National Make-A-Difference Day. A record 600 students were involved in goodwill tasks performed throughout the county.

Excerpt:

Matt Lechel, Volunteer Kalamazoo Neighborhood Safety Initiative Coordinator, said Make-A-Difference Day is one of four major days annually when the group, established more than 45 years ago, goes out of its way raises its visibility. “These special days are simply the catalyst to more volunteer events and opportunities,” Lechel said. “It’s people who take the time to volunteer and show they care about Kalamazoo, and that’s what makes the city so unique.”

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Source: Kalamazoo Gazette