Make A Difference Day is the largest national day of community service in the USA, which takes place on the fourth Saturday of October.

    Who takes part in Make A Difference Day?

    Anyone! Young and old, individuals and groups, anyone can carry out a volunteer project that helps others. It might be as ambitious as collecting truckloads of clothing for the homeless, or as personal as spending an afternoon helping an elderly neighbor or relative. USA WEEKEND covers volunteers and their projects in articles and photos.

    How do I get started?

    Look around your community. Are people hungry, homeless or ill? Are parks or schools dirty or neglected? No matter where you live, there's a need nearby. And on Make A Difference Day, millions of Americans are expected to roll up their sleeves to help others. You can act alone or enlist your friends, family and co-workers. You can also call the Make A Difference Day Hot Line, 1-800-416-3824, for information. Or use the ideas on this website for inspiration.

    What do I do after I've selected a project?

    Tell others what you're doing and enlist help. Several weeks before the day, tell us about your plans in the Make A Difference DAYtaBANK, a national listing of local projects that will be viewed by interested volunteers, other people looking for good project ideas and news media looking for good stories to tell. It will only take a few minutes to post your plans in the DAYtaBANK hosted by HandsOn Network.

    Do it!

    Carry out your plans to help others on Make A Difference Day. Be sure to take lots of pictures and share them on the Make A Difference Day Photo Album.

    What can technology do to make your world better?Three young people are starting new businesses to answer that question.

Mateusz Mach

    Eighteen-year-old Mateusz Mach was the youngest person in Poland to receive money from investors to expand his company.He started Five,a mobile messaging application,or app,for deaf people.The app lets deaf people create their own hand signs to communicate with friends.The app now has more than 10,000 deaf users.And Mach thinks there will be about 150,000 more deaf users in the U.S. next year.There are many different sign languages in various parts of the world.Mach will be working with the United Nations in New York.He says,"I love to create.And I think that the creation of things will be my passion to the end of my life."

    William Zhou

    William Zhou is the co-founder and leader of Chalk.com.The education software company helps teachers from the kindergarten level t0 12th grade,or the end of secondary school.Zhou was born in Beijing,China,grew up in the Canadian city of Vancouver and founded his first company when he was still in high school.Zhou sold the company when he was studying computer science at Canada's University of Waterloo.But he strongly wanted to make a change in education,From his dorm room,Zhou created Chalk.It is a group of programs that supports individual teaching and learning.Based in Canada,Chalk is now used in 20,000 schools by more than 100,000 users worldwide. Zhou says building startups is a difficult process because it could last years."It's only worth it if you find something you truly care about—something you're passionate about.Otherwise,you may just end up crashing."

    George Mtemaharji

    George Mtemahanji was born in the African country of Tanzania and moved with his family to Italy in 2002, where he attended the Technical Institute of Alfredo Ferrari in Maranello.There he learned about renewable energy and began thinking that solar energy would be easier to use in Africa than in Europe.After graduation,he returned to Tanzania in 2014 to start his own solar energy company—Sun Sweet Solar—in partnership with his friend Manuel Rolando.He explains that he could not understand why,in a place with bright sunshine,"more than 90 percent of people had no access to electricity.So when I returned to Italy I spoke with Manuel on the huge electricity demand in Tanzania and to the possibility to open a business there."Sun Sweet Solar found early success in rural areas of Tanzania.Since then,the company has been expanding.He hopes to create jobs and help build his country in the process.He understands the process will take time."But I think we are on the right path."

    If you think American cooking means opening a package and throwing the contents into the microwave oven (微波炉)，think again. On the one hand, it's true that many Americans have cold cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and instant (方便的) dinners. From busy homemakers to working people, many Americans enjoy the convenience (方便) of fast food that can be ready to serve in 10 minutes or less. On the other hand, many Americans realize the importance of cooking skills. Parents—especially mothers'—see the importance of training their children- especially daughter's. Most Americans think that there's nothing better than a good home-cooked meal. But with cooking, as with any other skill, good results don't happen by accident.

    Probably every cook has his or her own way of cooking. But there are some basic skills that most people follow. For example, baking is a main method (方法) of preparing food in America. For that reason, Americans would find it next to impossible to live without an oven. American cooks pay special attention to the balance of foods, too. In planning a big meal they try to include meat, a few vegetables, some bread and often a dessert. They also like to make sure the meal is colorful. Having several different colors of food on the plate usually makes for a healthy meal.

    For those who need guidance in their cooking, or for those who have just run out of ideas, recipes are a great help. Recipes list all the ingredients for a dish (generally in the order used), the amount of each to use, and a description of how to put them together.

    We know cats like to hide in boxes and knock things over. But if you make a square on your floor, what will your cat do? Turns out a lot of cats will get inside it. Amazed cat owners repeated the experiment, often with tape(带子), but others with squares made out of ribbon, sheets of paper and even shoes.

    Cat experts weigh in

    So what makes cats so interested in a square on the floor?

    “We know that cats like safe spaces. It's possible that the mark on the floor creates some illusion(幻觉) on the floor that doesn't actually exist,” says cat behavior expert Mikel Delgado. “It might have enough similarity to a low-sided box that a lot of cats are attracted to it for safety.”

    Another cat behavior expert Ingrid Johnson agrees. “I would imagine they probably feel as if they are 'in' something. Though shallow, still comforting, offers the idea of sides,” she says. Johnson points out that cats have poor close-up sight, so they may have the idea that the tape is actually the sides of a square area. “Their sight is built for distance and speed, watching a mouse run across the field,” she says. “Close up, they're blind 8 to 12 inches off their noses.”

    Kitty curiosity(好奇心)

    Another reason cats are attracted by the square? Pure curiosity.

    Because cats are very sensitive to their environment, the tape square might be attracting them just because it's new and different, she says. The same thing would likely happen if you put a piece of cardboard or a paper bag on the floor. A lot of cats would check it out.

    One of India's top engineering schools has restricted Internet access in its boarding houses, saying addiction to surfing, gaming and blogging was affecting students' performance, making them lonely and even suicidal.

    Authorities at the best Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai said students had stopped socializing and many were late for morning classes or slept through them. "Now, a student doesn't even know who lives two doors away from him because he is so busy on the Internet," said Prakash Gopalan, dean of Student Affairs. "The old dormitory culture of companionship and socializing among students is gone. This is not healthy in our opinion."

    IIT-Mumbai, with about 5,000 students, is one of the seven IITs across India which are considered to be among the finest engineering schools in the world. They are also a talent pool for global technology giants. But their hard courses, tough competition and lonely campus lifestyle have taken an effect on students. Depressive and dysfunctional lifestyles are known to be common among IIT students, and at least nine have committed suicide in the past five years. Students have unlimited free Internet access in their boarding houses to help them in their studies, but many also use it to surf, chat, download movies and music, blog and for gaming.

    "Starting Monday, Internet access will be banned between 11 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. at IIT-Mumbai's 13 boarding buildings to encourage students to sleep early and to try and force them out of their shells." Gopalan said. But the move has not gone down well with students who say they hate their lives being regulated. "Now they will say we need to listen to a lullaby (摇篮曲) to go to sleep." said Rajiv, an electronics student.

    A famous Anglican Church stands in a quiet corner of Dunedin in New Zealand's South Island. Built in 1865, it is the city's oldest church still in use. Countless couples have gathered here to marry. It's where morning tears are shared, friendships formed and comfort given during times of loss.

    As with many churches, its walls are graced with a collection of beautiful stained-glass windows. Known as the "John Allen window", one window portrays the short life of a local man, John Allen, who died in 1915 in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey.

    John was the son of Sir James Allen, who as Minister of Defense, helped plan and administer New Zealand's World War I strategy, which saw 100,000 troops sent to fight. With the war over and his son dead, Sir James chose to install a window in the church, with which the Allen family had strong ties.

    Divided into two parts, one depicts (描绘) St. George, the patron saint (守护神) of soldiers, while the other has an angel of peace, along with the words at the bottom, "John Hugh All Gallipoli, 6th June, 1915". Two trees with local birds on the branches can be seen and a kiwi walks at the bottom- reminders that John was a lover of birds.

    "There are many war memorials in the church," says the church. "However the 'John Allen window' stands out; it touches people because of the beautiful design, the New Zealand birds and because John's story, of a life so full of promise ending tragically in the war, reflects the lives and stories of so many others involved in World War I."