Make a Difference Day

Murphy Konehete Veterans Park bustled with industry Saturday, as the N.C. Commission on Volunteerism & Community Service partnered with AmeriCorps to spend the day pruning, raking and safety checking the River Walk, Sunset Cemetery and Payne Street Boat Ramp.

Abigail Jacobs, 22, an AmeriCorps service member, joined the group because she liked the idea of guiding youth through modeling. AmeriCorps serves marginalized populations suffering from poverty, crime and subjugation.

“We can fill in the spaces they haven’t had filled,” Jacobs said. “The educational leaders concentrate on academics and learning while I can focus on emotional and relational service.”

Jacobs serves AmeriCorps at Ranger elementary/middle schools. She spent Make a Difference Day pruning and cutting foliage debris near the picnic area. Jacob’s mentor, Katie Snow, program director for Project MARS, brought her group of about 12 service members to help Make a Difference Day happen.

The brainchild of Mayor Tim Radford, Make a Difference Day came to him during the Rotary Club of Murphy’s Alzheimer’s walk a few weeks ago.

“A lady slipped on the wet bridge, and I thought we could use some volunteers and service members to spend a day cleaning the River Walk, the signs and the bridges,” he said.

One of the day’s jobs was to secure skid-resistant strips on the slippery parts of the path. With Radford’s skill of connecting people, Susan Dean, AmeriCorps program director, Volunteer N.C. soon got excited about the project.

“I explained to Tim the service projects under the AmeriCorps programs,” she said.

Together with the help of community leaders like Rotarian Nancy Helms, who coordinated meals for the service members, Make a Difference Day did just that.

“Tim and I work on the project together,” Helms said, “and I told him I’d take care of the food.”

Radford was thrilled with the results.

“The Project MARS/AmeriCorps members and leaders came to town eager to serve and were greeted by a community who really stepped up to make them feel welcome and appreciated and very well fed with three meals,” he said. “My sincere appreciation goes out to each person who contributed to make Murphy even better.”

Cherokee County churches and clubs responded to Helms’ call to action and flocked to the Konehete Park Pavilion. McDonald’s donated breakfast muffins, and the community took care of the rest.

“I made a fresh apple cake,” Grape Creek Baptist Church member Joan Dockery said.

The table was filled with just such delicacies and homemade comfort food for the corps. Despite the cool breeze, the workers showed up for lunch sweaty and hungry after digging holes, repairing storm damage and picking up litter.

Dawson Grizzle, 23, and Alexander Reed, 22, gratefully ate a robust lunch before heading back out for another three-hour work session. Grizzle joined the corps when he had trouble finding a teaching position.

“I graduated from Appalachian State and wanted to work at my alma mater, Murphy High School,” he said.

However, there were no positions so, after subbing for a semester, he joined AmeriCorps and now works in the school as a resource service member. Reed moved to Cherokee County all the way from Texas to join Snow’s Project MARS.

All service members must have a college degree and commit to serving 1,700 hours. In return, they receive a living stipend and education rewards, usually resulting in a student debt decrease.

Jeanie Sester Teague of the Peachtree Community Club was among the community volunteers.

“We need to support each other,” she said. “River Walk is a great thing for our community.”