National Neighborhood Volunteer Day Connects Young People and Adults

Connecting young people and adults in neighborhood volunteering is the unique focus of JOIN HANDS DAY, a national day of service on June 15, 2002. The day is designed to create cross-generational friendships that help break down age barriers. Adult groups invite youth organizations, and youth groups invite adult organizations to become project partners for the day; and, in some cases, they form long-term relationships.

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- On Saturday, June 15, thousands of youth and adult organizations, agencies, chapters and individuals will connect across generations to develop friendships as they work together on community projects that make life better where they live.

This is the third annual JOIN HANDS DAY, the only national volunteer day with a focus that builds respect, trust and understanding across generations. As young people and adults work side by side to tackle projects in their own communities, they get to know each other and begin to solve the generation disconnection.

JOIN HANDS DAY is sponsored by Americas Fraternal Benefit Societies in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation and the Volunteer Center National Network.

Last year, 107,000 individuals participated in 4,500 projects nationwide. Projects ranged from planting flowers in a local park to testing river water for pollution, from building an entire playground for young children to finalizing construction of three homes for low-income families, from organizing a community fair to taking seniors fishing, from painting puppet stages and making puppets to fundraising for a park band shell.

To learn about a JOIN HANDS DAY project in your community, visit the web site www.joinhandsday.org > go to Locate a Project > click on the map to review projects registered in your state. For additional information, email actioncenter@joinhandsday.org or call the Action Center at 1-877-OUR-1DAY.

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