Not quite Halloween Weekend

Post by Stephanie Sacco, ServeNext Rochester:

Last Saturday, October 22nd, should not be remembered as “not quite Halloween weekend.” It was so much more than spending too much money on costumes to be worn for three hours, and eating more chocolate than any human ever should. In fact, it had nothing to do with Halloween, except that some people spent the day in a cemetery.  Last Saturday, October 22nd, was national Make A Difference Day.

All across our country groups of community-minded citizens gathered together to beautify, feed, organize, cleanse, support, and heal our nation. In Rochester, NY, several dozen volunteers–most of them Rochester AmeriCorps members–met with rakes and gloves at the City’s Mt. Hope Cemetery, an historic Rochester landmark and home to such figures as Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.

Before the volunteers got to work cleaning up our city’s favorite cemetery, Luis Borges, Commission for Recreation and Youth Services, read aloud a proclamation signed by our City Council and Mayor Tom Richards that described the impacts of Rochester AmeriCorps and announced October 22nd to be Make a Difference Day in our city.

The proclamation included the observation that Rochester AmeriCorps has continued to bring and keep talented and socially-minded people in the City of Rochester. The proclamation also acknowledged that AmeriCorps members have benefited our City through a strong focus on youth initiatives, criminal justice activities, and areas of employment readiness and financial literacy services for economically disadvantaged youth and adults in our community.

Overall, the Mayor and City Council thanked Rochester AmeriCorps for increasing the spirit of volunteerism and community service in the City of Rochester, specifically on Make a Difference Day.

The event was a tremendous success and even was written about in the Democrat and Chronicle. Thank you to everyone who participated and to all the Rochester AmeriCorps members who make a difference everyday!

Please contact Stephanie Sacco if you would like more information on what Rochester AmeriCorps, ServeNext Rochester, and other national service groups are doing for our city, or for information about ways that you can get involved with the spirit of volunteerism yourself–even on today, a day when all sorts of eeeeeerie spirits are spooking about.

Stephanie Sacco
ServeNext Rochester Field Organizer
Rochester AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA Alum
(585) 478-5112
ssacco@servenext.org
Facebook: ServeNext Rochester