Mary Strange could have spent a beautiful Saturday morning doing just about anything she wanted. She's retired, after all.
She chose, though, to spend it in a small apartment on the city's Southside, wrapping donated mattresses in bedsheets for a family of Burmese refugees.
"I had the time to do it, so I decided to do it," Mary said with a slight shrug. "USA Weekend was really touting Make A Difference Day and I decided I'd get involved."
Indeed, that's what the day is all about.
USA Weekend magazine, owned by Star Media's parent company, Gannett, created Make A Difference Day in 1992. Over the years, participation has grown to about 3 million people, making it a national holiday of sorts for volunteering.
In Indianapolis, though, Make A Difference Day is still fairly new.
Star Media employees, for example, participated for the first time this year. Nearly a hundred volunteers spent the day cleaning up Riverside Park.
Meanwhile, dozens of volunteers with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful planted trees on the Southside and helped residents with prep work for a rain garden on the Near Northside.
But it wasn't all rosy.
The Julian Center and My Sister's Place, two groups that had anticipated taking part in Make A Difference Day, had to cancel their plans because not enough people signed up. Indy Reads Books had fewer volunteers than expected and even Exodus Refugee Immigration, which got Mary's attention, ended up a bit short staffed.
Point is, not every company can be Eli Lilly and put 8,000 employees on the street to volunteer for a single day. Sure, it's awe-inspiring -- I mean, how many companies can shut down an interstate to plant trees? -- but maybe we shouldn't expect that.
This is the Indiana of 2012, not 1995.
We don't have as many Fortune 500 companies based here as we once did. In fact, we have six -- one of which, cellphone distributor Brightpoint, might be taken over by a California rival. If that happens, it will be the sixth out-of-state takeover since 1998 of an Indiana-based Fortune 500 company.
We've also had a number of smaller companies minimize their presence in Indianapolis in various ways in recent years. Among them, Steak n Shake, Hat World and scores of banks.
Why does all of this matter?
Because companies tend to be committed to the cities that are home to their headquarters. They tend to donate to local charities and can convince their employees to volunteer en masse.
To adapt and maintain the level of volunteering Indianapolis needs, maybe we should look more to models such as Make A Difference Day.
Gannett isn't based here, but Star Media is. The partnerships forged with local non-profits could provide a network of volunteer opportunities for Hoosiers.
It worked for Mary.
It also worked for Gail Nellis, who also heard about Make A Difference Day in The Indianapolis Star. Both women raved about the experience.
"I'd do it again before next year if they'll let me," Gail said.
Outside, near the moving truck of furniture for the Burmese family, Megan Hochbein, a volunteer coordinator for Exodus Refugee Immigration, echoed her sentiments.
"I think we'll probably do it every year now that we know it exists," she said.
There's more than one way to make a difference.
http://www.indystar.com
She chose, though, to spend it in a small apartment on the city's Southside, wrapping donated mattresses in bedsheets for a family of Burmese refugees.
"I had the time to do it, so I decided to do it," Mary said with a slight shrug. "USA Weekend was really touting Make A Difference Day and I decided I'd get involved."
Indeed, that's what the day is all about.
USA Weekend magazine, owned by Star Media's parent company, Gannett, created Make A Difference Day in 1992. Over the years, participation has grown to about 3 million people, making it a national holiday of sorts for volunteering.
In Indianapolis, though, Make A Difference Day is still fairly new.
Star Media employees, for example, participated for the first time this year. Nearly a hundred volunteers spent the day cleaning up Riverside Park.
Meanwhile, dozens of volunteers with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful planted trees on the Southside and helped residents with prep work for a rain garden on the Near Northside.
But it wasn't all rosy.
The Julian Center and My Sister's Place, two groups that had anticipated taking part in Make A Difference Day, had to cancel their plans because not enough people signed up. Indy Reads Books had fewer volunteers than expected and even Exodus Refugee Immigration, which got Mary's attention, ended up a bit short staffed.
Point is, not every company can be Eli Lilly and put 8,000 employees on the street to volunteer for a single day. Sure, it's awe-inspiring -- I mean, how many companies can shut down an interstate to plant trees? -- but maybe we shouldn't expect that.
This is the Indiana of 2012, not 1995.
We don't have as many Fortune 500 companies based here as we once did. In fact, we have six -- one of which, cellphone distributor Brightpoint, might be taken over by a California rival. If that happens, it will be the sixth out-of-state takeover since 1998 of an Indiana-based Fortune 500 company.
We've also had a number of smaller companies minimize their presence in Indianapolis in various ways in recent years. Among them, Steak n Shake, Hat World and scores of banks.
Why does all of this matter?
Because companies tend to be committed to the cities that are home to their headquarters. They tend to donate to local charities and can convince their employees to volunteer en masse.
To adapt and maintain the level of volunteering Indianapolis needs, maybe we should look more to models such as Make A Difference Day.
Gannett isn't based here, but Star Media is. The partnerships forged with local non-profits could provide a network of volunteer opportunities for Hoosiers.
It worked for Mary.
It also worked for Gail Nellis, who also heard about Make A Difference Day in The Indianapolis Star. Both women raved about the experience.
"I'd do it again before next year if they'll let me," Gail said.
Outside, near the moving truck of furniture for the Burmese family, Megan Hochbein, a volunteer coordinator for Exodus Refugee Immigration, echoed her sentiments.
"I think we'll probably do it every year now that we know it exists," she said.
There's more than one way to make a difference.
http://www.indystar.com
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