NATCHEZ &045; Ask Alex Lynain, a senior at Trinity Episcopal Day School, why he chose to volunteer at the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society Saturday, and you’d get a ready answer.

&uot;We need to make a difference in our community,&uot; Lynain said. &uot;We need more community involvement. Š We’re linked together by a common thread.&uot;

Lynain was one of almost 20 Mayor’s Youth Council members who volunteered in shifts to take care of maintenance tasks at the Liberty Road shelter Saturday.

But they were just one of the groups that chose to take on community service projects as part of the annual observance of Make a Difference Day.

More than 60 volunteers showed up at the Adams County Extension Service building Saturday morning, then dispersed to locations throughout the county to conduct beautification projects.

&uot;We planted flowers at the Police Department and NAPAC Š and painted hydrants, more than 300 of them, out in the country,&uot; said Hattie Kelly, volunteer leader of the On the Move 4-H Club.

That club tackled the projects along with the Eagle’s Nest, Broadmoor and Clara Plucks 4-H clubs, two different Ruriteen groups, a Girl Scout troop, the House of Hope Community Club and the Co-Workers Outreach Club, Kelly said.

&uot;We (who are involved with the club) started thinking about keeping Natchez and Adams County beautiful,&uot; she said.

&uot;We looked around and saw trash on the road, fire hydrants that were rusty, leaves everywhere, and it made (the county) look bad, so we decided to do something that could make a difference. These children need a clean environment to grow up in.&uot;

Several other organizations and churches also took part in Make a Difference Day locally.

River City Sweepers Ruritan members collected money at Wal-Mart to purchase school uniforms for needy children.

Members of Girl Scout Troop 224 handed out literature on breast cancer detection and prevention to residents of Susie B. West Apartments.

Morgantown Elementary School signed up students for library cards at Natchez Mall.

Zion Hill No. 1 Baptist Church scheduled a reading fair, while Prayer Tower Church of God in Christ held its Health and Safety Awareness Day.