ECONOMICALLY SPEAKING: TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

In addressing the country during his Inaugural Address in 1961, President John F. Kennedy said, "And so, my fellow American: ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." At the height of the Cold War, faced with a growing Soviet military presence in Cuba and growing tensions over Communist activities in Southeast Asia, President Kennedy was concerned with avoiding the destruction of mankind and assuring a more abundant life for all.

We have since witnessed the end of the Cold War and the proliferation of democracy throughout the world. However, we must continue to focus our attentions toward providing the opportunity for a better quality of life -- all over the world, as well as in our own backyard. If we each took a minute to look around our own neighborhood, we would, without a doubt, find someone or some thing in need of assistance. By taking time out of our busy schedules to actually help a person or the community as a whole, we could truly make a difference across Missouri.

In fact, the fourth Saturday in October each year has been set aside just for this purpose. Make A Difference Day was created and is sponsored by USA WEEKEND magazine in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation and with the support of MindShares, a national resource for civic leadership. On this day, millions of Americans are expected to volunteer their time and effort to help others in communities across the country.

The ninth annual Make A Difference Day is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23. Over 70 projects have been registered from more than 40 communities throughout Missouri. These projects range in ideas from food drives to community clean up events to children and senior citizen activities.

Last year, several youth throughout Missouri made a difference in their communities by participating in projects that addressed needs in communities throughout the state.

Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), a Springfield-based national business club, had nearly 12,000 students in several different states participate in this event last year. These young adults spent one Saturday lending a hand to the less fortunate. SIFE members from Missouri built Habitat for Humanity homes. The national group received a $10,000 award to help it expand its volunteer projects this year.

Each year, two projects in each state are chosen to receive a $2,000 award from Wal-Mart, the retail supporter of Make A Difference Day. Last year, projects in Puxico and Columbia received these cash awards.

The Columbia public school district participated in Make A Difference Day for the first time in 1998. Their project consisted of a district-wide food drive that resulted in one of the largest collection of food in the 18-year history of the Central Missouri Food Bank. More than 16,000 students, staff and parents collected over four tons of food for the food bank. That was enough food to supply more than 6,000 meals for people in need in central Missouri.

Members of the Mingo Job Corps, a vocational/educational training center in Puxico, Mo., celebrated Make A Difference Day by honoring volunteers at the United Gospel Rescue Mission. After that, Mingo Job Corps volunteers cleaned the Houck and Puxico Veterans Parks and a two-mile stretch of highway. They also visited an area elementary school to address children on the importance of staying in school and furthering their education, and passed out literature regarding the fight against drugs.

As director of the Department of Economic Development, I have been involved in a metamorphosis of the way we do business. Once the department focused primarily on the location and expansion of new and existing industry within the state. While attracting and retaining businesses in the state remains important, we now approach economic development according to the intertwining needs of people, businesses and communities.

President Kennedy implied that it is better to give than to receive. I also believe that there is a time to give back to your community. It is important for our citizens to volunteer their time and effort to make a difference right here in Missouri. By getting involved in improving the quality of life in your own community, you will make Missouri a better place to live and work today and in the next century.

For additional information on Make A Difference Day, the following web site contains project ideas and free team-building guides: www.usaweekend.com/diffday/index_6steps.html or you can call (800) 416-3824.