Everyone knows the fourth Thursday of November is reserved for giving thanks, spending time with family, and stuffing yourself with turkey and mashed potatoes, but many forget that the fourth Saturday in October is a day reserved for giving back to people and communities.

This year, Make a Difference Day was on Oct. 25. Across the nation, people picked up projects to help others around them. The Wenatchee World also released a pink flyer with project ideas and there was information posted at Pybus Market.

Common Make A Difference Day activities include cleaning the bronze statues scattered around downtown Wenatchee, cleaning public spaces, and painting over graffiti.

Students from Wenatchee and Eastmont high school Key Clubs collaborated with Youth United volunteers to do a garden cleanup at the Lighthouse Community Garden on Oct. 26. Food from this garden directly benefits the Lighthouse food bank that feeds homeless people. At the cleanup, some food was also harvested for the homeless and hungry of Wenatchee.

“For some people, community service is a ‘requirement,’ but for me it’s a gift to be able to make a change in someone’s life, small or big,” senior Teresa Bendito said. Bendito is the Youth Leadership Council President, which is the leadership of the Youth United program that offers varsity letters and other awards for doing community service.

Bendito said she does a different project every year.

“I think that for every hour I put in for community service it is making Wenatchee a better place to live in,” Bendito said. “It benefits not only a certain number of people but our whole community.”

Even if you missed Make A Difference Day this year, there’s never a bad time to give back and do some community service. “See a need, do a good deed.”