Saturday was a special day in Metro Atlanta and across America: Make a Difference Day.
Thousands of volunteers took on an endless number of projects to better the lives of others to make a major impact on communities.
11Alive and Arby's volunteer teams were no exception. They teamed up at Belmont Hills Elementary School in Smyrna.
11Alive volunteers joined with Action Ministries to pack special food packs for students, while Arby's worked with Points of Light and Hands on Atlanta in a wide variety of Belmont Hills school projects.
From mentoring youngsters, to packing student food packs, to painting, landscaping and classroom games—it was all part of Make a Difference Day at Belmont Hills Elementary school in Smyrna.
Volunteers from 11Alive and Arby's, all valuing the importance of improving the lives of others, went all out to make the day special.
“Our family always tries to make sure we give our give back to those who are less fortunate that us. I am inside today but my kids are in the back helping on the trails,” said Latoya Southern, an Arby’s volunteer.
Make A Difference Day is now in its 26th year and it brings out thousands of volunteers for programs just like the one at Belmont Hills Elementary,
For the Nation’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, Points of Light plays a major role in bringing together volunteers with important community projects.
“It is a good feeling and a really good sense to see such a rich diversity of humanity really coming together to help each other; to help their neighbors, and to help the community and give back,” said Diane Quest of Points of Light.
The 11Alive Volunteer Team, forming a spirited assembly line to put together 1,100 super food packs to insure good weekend meals for students, is an important part of a year-long food-pack program by it partner in Make A Difference Day, Action Ministries.
“We build out 70,000 super packs a year. that is our goal and that is we are doing, reaching out with churches, schools, civic groups and businesses,” said Shakura Conley of Action Ministries.
And Arby's has made the same commitment, working with Belmont Hills Elementary for the past 5 years.
“We have a year-round involvement with this school, in fact every week we pack backpacks full of food to provide for kids who may struggle with hunger over the weekend,” said Melissa Strait of Arby’s.
And 11Alive's parent company, Tegna, is adding a special thank you for Make a Difference Day.
The Company will award fourteen $10,000 grants for the best community service projects done on Make a Difference Day. Click here for details.
And to all of you in our community, a special thank you for making Make a Difference Day so meaningful for so many of our neighbors and friends.
