If you add 150 Denison students and 158 school-age kids, they equal one special day. Since 2003, Denison University has been taking part in Make a Difference Day, a national event that focuses on helping others. This year’s event, on Saturday, Oct. 24, promises to be the largest yet, with groups from Granville, Heath, Johnstown and Newark participating.

Literacy will be the focus of educational games that will take place both on the Denison campus and in the larger community including the Newark Public Library and the John Clem Elementary School. The games will include a scavenger hunt, science lab explorations, craft projects and musical activities. Girl and Boy Scout troops, the YES clubhouse and other community partners including Headstart, will participate with Denison students in activities taking place throughout the day.

Denison students from a wide range of on-campus groups, including the Denison Community Association (DCA), men’s and women’s basketball teams, women’s volleyball team, America Reads, Ladies Night Out a capella group, Betsy and a Ukulele, Burpee’s Seedy Comedy Troupe, fraternities and sororities, Outlook, the College Republicans, Denison Posse members and the chemistry and physics departments will volunteer, among others. Besides the educational games, some of the students will contribute by doing yard work and painting projects as well helping with the SPARK Harvest Literacy Festival.

Anne Moss, Denison class 2011 and this year’s president of the DCA says, “One of the greatest things about this year’s Make a Difference Day is the transformative capacity it has for the campus and the larger community simultaneously. Even if you take just one day to make a difference, the difference you make can be a huge one.”

USA Weekend established Make a Difference Day in 1980 as a national day to help others. Millions have since participated in the annual event held each year on the fourth Saturday in October.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575