On Saturday, Oct. 24, volunteers fanned out across Venice parks and green spaces for a morning of all-ages community service. The city’s 13th annual Make A Difference Day drew 349 volunteers to 25 locations, according to an independent report from ABC7/WWSB.
Make A Difference Day is also a national observance. Youth Service America dates it to 1992 and describes it as a day for people of all ages to work together on community needs. The organization calls the observance a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Venice’s 2026 event fell on its Oct. 24 date and directed volunteers toward city parks, beaches and other public spaces.
The service event drew people of all ages. Students, church groups and community organizations joined in, WWSB reported. Visit Venice FL’s community calendar described planned work across more than 25 city parks, beaches and public spaces.
Visit Venice FL’s calendar listed the service window from 8 to 11 a.m. on Oct. 24, with check-in at the Venice Community Center at 7:30 a.m. The listing said groups could register with Jim Foubister, individuals could sign up online, and people could also arrive for an assignment and T-shirt. It described check-in as a drive-through, so volunteers did not need to leave their cars. Gloves, drinking water and other supplies would be furnished; volunteers were asked to wear comfortable clothes and work shoes and bring sunscreen.
The organizer’s recap describes the preparation behind the citywide effort: Venice Parks Department staff organized supplies, materials and projects for 25 parks and green spaces. Visit Venice FL’s calendar identified Jim Foubister of One Christ Won City and Together We Can as chief organizer, with assistance from City Public Works staff. Those details show how the service day relied on coordination between city staff and community organizers.
Youth groups were part of the work crews. Organizers named teams from New Life Church in Venice, City Life in Bradenton and North Ridge in Englewood, as well as the Young Marines at Venice Middle School and several student organizations at Venice High School. The list included the school’s boys basketball team, Key Club, Student Government and Interact Club.
Churches and civic organizations also sent volunteers. The organizer’s recap thanked the Lions Club, Sun Rotary, Keep Venice Beautiful, Venice Area Beautification, Pinebrook Adopt-a-Park and the Coast Guard Auxiliary. It also named The Bridge Church, CenterPointe, Holy Spirit Orthodox Church, Venice Presbyterian Church and The Warehouse among participating groups. Organizers also recognized individuals, families and visitors who joined on their own.
A complimentary lunch at West Blalock Park brought volunteers together after their assignments. WWSB reported that the morning concluded with lunch there. The steering team said it prepared and served the meal to 220 volunteers, a count that comes from the organizers’ post-event account.
The steering team described the day as more than park beautification: it said the event is meant to build relationships, strengthen the community and inspire future generations. Its recap thanked the City’s Parks Department for the planning and materials, then listed student groups, civic clubs, churches, families and individual volunteers as part of the effort. That range of participants is one way the annual event invites people to contribute together.
Visit Venice FL’s calendar offered a comparison from the previous year: 471 volunteers ages 5 to 85 took part in the October 2025 edition. That number belongs to an earlier event, separate from the 349 people who joined on Oct. 24, 2026. WWSB described this year’s event as open to people of all ages, while the organizer’s recap lists youth groups alongside churches and civic organizations.
The public accounts do not provide a site-by-site inventory of completed work. WWSB reported volunteers beautifying 25 parks and green spaces, but not which tasks happened where. Before the event, Visit Venice FL’s calendar listed landscaping, mulching, raking, cleaning and litter collection as planned tasks. The available reporting supports the overall effort without assigning a particular result to any single park.
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