Make a Difference Day volunteers sought

VANCOUVER – The city of Vancouver has four volunteer opportunities for people on Make a Difference Day this Saturday. The annual day of volunteering is celebrated nationally on the fourth Saturday in October.

• Uptown Village cleanup and Ryan Woods Grassroots Community Award ceremony: After an awards ceremony, volunteers will clean up the Uptown Village area. The event starts at 9 a.m. at 1919 Main St., and goes until noon.

• “The Butt Stops Here” park cleanup: At 9 a.m. volunteers will meet at Luke Jensen Sports Park, 4000 N.E. 78th St. in Hazel Dell, and after a short orientation head out to various parks to pick up litter and cigarette butts. At 11:30 a.m., everybody returns to the sports park to weigh bags of trash and eat a pizza lunch courtesy of Blind Onion Pizza.

• Tree planting at Leverich Park with Vancouver Watersheds Alliance: From 9 a.m. to noon, the Vancouver Watersheds Alliance and the city of Vancouver’s Greenway Sensitive Lands Team will help volunteers plant trees at Leverich Park, at East 39th Street and Leverich Park Way.

• LeRoy Haagen Memorial Park cleanup: From 10 a.m. to noon, volunteers will remove invasive plants from the park, which is on Northeast LeRoy Haagen Memorial Drive off Northeast 136th Avenue near the Firstenburg Community Center.

Volunteers are asked to RSVP online at www.cityofvancouver.us/MADD-2016, and minors will need a signed parent consent form to participate. Volunteers should dress for the weather, wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes, and bring gloves, water bottles and hand tools.