On Saturday, Oct. 28, around 500 students positively impacted the Keweenaw community. Each fall, Michigan Tech organizes Make a Difference Day to give students the opportunity to volunteer at one of the many participating service sites. This also gives students the opportunity to connect with organizations and people within the local community, all while doing a good deed.
Students gathered in groups and were assigned to one of 60 service sites participating this year. Service sites were located within around 25 miles of campus. Some participating sites were the U.P. Wildlife Rehabilitation, Humane Society, Husky Food Pantry, Open Skies Project (Calumet Air Force Station), Habitat for Humanity, and local resident homes. Once at the service site, students were given tasks to complete within a rough time period of 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. These tasks included leaf raking, yard work, trail maintenance, organizing, and cleaning.
Director of Student Leadership and Involvement, Danielle Mierow, has planned and coordinated Make a Difference Day for three years. Mierow shared, “Students come to Michigan Tech I think often because something draws them to the Keweenaw. It’s like this really beautiful, picturesque place of adventure and we don’t always think about the people in that. So I really love these opportunities where you get to connect with the local community who really has supported our institution and being in this area and generally wants to connect with our students.”
Make a Difference Day began in 2014 and has since been the largest community service event at Michigan Tech. A student at the annual LeaderShape recommended organizing a large gathering of Michigan Tech students to volunteer and connect with the local community. Michigan Tech was able to bring this vision to life and keep the tradition alive for ten years.
Students were encouraged to sign up either with a participating student organization or independently. Either way, students had the opportunity to connect with the local community and other peers, while making a positive impact. More information can be found on the Michigan Tech Student Leadership and Involvement website.
