DuPage Co. Make A Difference Day projects

Collecting food, cleaning forest preserves and raising money to fight cancer are just some of the ways volunteers throughout DuPage County will try to make a difference on Saturday.

Wheaton, Villa Park and Glendale Heights are among the communities that have organized events as part of Make A Difference Day. Each event has its own approach to honoring the national day of doing good deeds.

Members of the committee who planned Wheaton's events say their biggest goal this year is to help those who are struggling due to the economy.

"Talking to different organizations in the community, because of the nature of the economy, there's more homeless here in Wheaton now. There's more needy," said Laurie Swanson Oberhelman of Wheaton's Community Relations Commission.

"We really felt that somehow trying to do something to lift people up during a down economy was the right thing to do," she added.

So a morning of educational and skill-building seminars will be held to help unemployed and underemployed individuals develop the tools they need to find work. The free event, dubbed "A Job Makes a Difference," will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Saturday on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, 201 E. Loop Drive, Wheaton.

While the event isn't a job fair, participants will get tips on writing resumes, searching for jobs and interviewing. There also will be a seminar about proper budgeting.

"Some people have been impacted who have not been interviewed in 20 years," Swanson Oberhelman said. "They don't understand the different styles of interviewing, like behavioral interviewing where they don't ask you your strengths and weaknesses anymore."

Organizers are unsure how many people will attend. Bags containing "interview essentials" will be passed out as supplies last. Free blood pressure checks also will be offered.

Then from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, the focus will shift to the former Hubble Middle School property in downtown Wheaton, where Wheaton Chamber of Commerce members will be collecting food donations for the People's Resource Center.

Green barrels have been available for weeks at different businesses around town so people can donate nonperishable and non-glass food items. Starting at noon, those barrels will be brought to the former school at Naperville and Roosevelt roads.

Swanson Oberhelman said the goal of the event is to literally stuff a truck with food.

"This winter, the People's Resource Center is expecting a rise in the number of people who use their services," she said. "We need to do a food drive, but not just any food drive. We decided let's see if we can stuff a big truck with nonperishable food items."

Because of the building's visible location, organizers are hoping that people will stop by and drop off items such as canned soups, canned vegetables, pasta and cereal. Even pet food will be gladly accepted.

"Pets are often a part of families but are not thought of in a food drive," Swanson Oberhelman said. "So, pet food is awesome."

Other Make A Difference Day events in Wheaton include Saturday morning's Lincoln Marsh Walk for Awareness. The 2-mile breast cancer walk through the Lincoln Marsh Natural Area will benefit the Breast Health Center at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. For information and registration, visit lincolnmarsh.org.

Meanwhile in Villa Park, the community will celebrate the value of trees with a series of free events, starting with a 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. tree identification workshop at the Community Recreation Building, 320 E. Wildwood Ave. Other events include a family tree rally from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Community Recreation Building; a community tree sale from noon to 3 p.m. at Pioneer Garden and Feed, 118 S. Villa Ave., and a 7 p.m. bluegrass concert by Ashley Lewis and Ashton Gap at the Villa Park Public Library, 305 S. Ardmore Ave. Call (630) 941-9133 for details.

For those who want to help keep nature beautiful, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is amassing volunteers to clean up East Branch Forest Preserve in Glendale Heights.

The volunteers would join employees from NOW Foods, which spearheads two cleanups a year of the forest preserve.

"Make A Difference Day came at their usual fall cleanup," said Chris Linnell, the district's volunteer services supervisor. "So we decided to see if we could recruit other companies and groups for that day."

Litter will be removed from the preserve's shorelines and trails from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

"It's wonderful timing," Linnell said. "Because here we are in fall and we can get it all cleaned up before the winter hits and it's covered with snow."

The event is open to all ages, though children 14 years and younger must be accompanied by an adult. For more information or to volunteer, call (630) 933-7681.

Even if you can't participate in an organized event this weekend, it doesn't mean you can't make a difference on your own.

"Just get out and rake some leaves for your next-door neighbor," Swanson Oberhelman said. "That's really what it's all about - raising the awareness for one particular day."