Troy Community Works!

We are down to the last few days before we kick off our 2nd annual Make A Difference Day – Troy project and I couldn’t be more excited about the preparations for this day.  We’ve got 150 pre-registered volunteers, groups from all over the city, a breakfast sponsored by Panera, lunch prepared by the Altrusa Club and a great t-shirt.  We’ve added a work site, the Family Abuse Shelter, on Franklin Street in Troy and we’ve gotten some specific places to do litter clean up from the City Parks Director, Tim Mercer.  Mr. Mercer made a good point for those assigned to litter clean up- the area around the stadium will be a hot spot because the Troy-Piqua football game is Friday night (Go Troy!).

Seeing everything come together does a heart good.  I am continually amazed that even though our national economic situation may be bleak, people still have the strength of spirit to come together & help their own communities.  I look forward to everyone coming out & I hope to see you on Saturday!

Cheers,

Martha

Make A Difference Day – Troy is this Saturday (Oct. 24) and I am so glad that you have signed up to volunteer.  We’ve got a great day planned…10 work sites & so far about 150 pre-registered volunteers.  This email will give you more detailed information about the day & where to go.

THE TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY TROY:

1. HEADQUARTERS: Are located at the First Place (16 W. Franklin St. -corner of Franklin & Cherry).  Come here to check in & check out, eat lunch, get information & all other needs.  This will be our central location for the day!

2. SITE ASSIGNMENTS: Once you check in you will be given your site assignment.  We tried to give everyone their first preference to work on a particular area.

3. PANERA BREADS: All pre-registered volunteers can go to Panera Breads in Troy (1920 W. Main St. Troy) from 7am -9am to get breakfast!  Panera is sponsoring a free coffee & free breakfast item to all volunteers for MDD!  Just go on in the store and say “I’m a Make A Difference Day Volunteer” and their staff will get you what you need.

4. LUNCH- Lunch will be served from 12-1pm by the Altrusa Club and will be in the First Place large room.  At 12:30 we will have a short ceremony recognizing all of our partners.

5. PARKING- Parking around the First Place is limited and the majority of our sites also have limited parking.  I recommend that you park your car somewhere safe, put on your walking shoes & walk around to get to & from your site.  If you do want to drive from HQ to your site, be aware of the different parking limitations around town.  There is a public parking lot off of Franklin/Cherry Street in town that offers metered parking.

6. DRESS - Dress for working on fix it projects & Dress comfortably & warmly.  The weather is supposed to be in the 50′s with a 30% chance of rain.  Sturdy shoes & layered clothes are recommended.

7. FOOD DRIVE – Our Headquarters at the First Place is also a Food Pantry.  We will have barrels out and encourage all of our volunteers to bring canned or dried food items to donate to the food pantry!  Do you know people who wanted to volunteer for MDD and couldn’t because of other time commitments?  Encourage them to swing by to drop off canned food items so that they can make a difference to a family in need.

8. SITE LEADERS: Each of our sites has one or more site leaders that will be wearing a RED MDD T-shirt.  If you have questions, see one of them.

9. DONATIONS - This day has had some incredible sponsors to make it happen, but we are still seeking donations.  If you would like to donate to this MDD project there will be a donation jar at HQ.

10. MORE PEOPLE – Do you have friends & family that want to volunteer, but haven’t signed up?  That’s ok!  People can sign up to volunteer that day of the event!  We may not have a t-shirt or volunteer packet for them (those go first to the pre-registered folks), but we welcome more volunteers!  Come on down.

Thank you to all of you for participating in this day of service.  All of our work sites are very appreciative of the work you will be doing and Troy Community Works! is so proud of being able to work alongside people like you.  Thank you.

See you Saturday!

We are 11 days until Make A Difference Day and I couldn’t be more pleased with our progress.  There has been some great response from the community in getting the word out; tomorrow I’ll be talking with Mayor Michael Beamish for his weekly radio address and we’ve had some good press in our local TDN.  Our project sites are getting their material lists & prep work done and we’ll be ready to go next week.  Our goal is to get 200 Trojians out and volunteering on Oct. 23-24 so if anyone is thinking about it go ahead and get a form from our website & send it in!

Finally, I’ve just come across a great site called Project 3/50.  It is an effort to support and encourage people to buy locally.  This site goes one step farther than just encouraging people to buy locally; they have quantified the amount of money spent that stays in our local communities.  This is powerful to remember- when we shop locally owned businesses than more of our dollars stays here in Troy.  Local businesses can register (for free) to support the Project and once you register you have access to different resources that support the “buying local” cause.  Our own Harris Jewelers is listed on the site & now Troy Community Works! is listed as well.  Check it out and then come volunteer for Make A Difference Day.