With every fall season in the Upper Peninsula, Northern Michigan University students come together to support the community they live in by raking leaves for those who are unable to. Saturday, Oct. 21 is Make a Difference Day (MADD) with over 100 student groups preparing to volunteer to rake leaves for the community. 

The event is hosted by the NMU Volunteer Center and they’ve been getting calls about this day since the semester has started. Addi Pavlo is a second year student at NMU and is a coordinator for the Superior Edge/Volunteer Center.

“Make a Difference Day to me is more so being able to help others who cannot do it themselves, something as simple as raking leaves means so much to those we do it for,” Pavlo said. “I am looking forward to the community event where the goal is to help someone.” 

This initiative has brought in over 800 volunteers to rake leaves for local seniors in the Marquette community. A wait list has been created due to the amount of seniors who would like these NMU volunteers to come by and rake leaves for them. 

Those volunteering will receive a grab-and-go breakfast before joining their group in going to their designated site to start helping out. MADD is an event where students from different parts of the country come together to serve one community.