BANGOR – In honor of the 14th annual National Make A Difference Day on Oct. 23, Penobscot Job Corps held more than a dozen community service events in Penobscot and Hancock counties.

Nearly 50 students from Penobscot Job Corps were at Marden Park in Orono Oct. 21-22 breaking ground on a Super Snack Shack for Orono Parks and Recreation and Orono-Veazie Little League. Students placed concrete for the new structure and relocated a scoreboard.

Some students also weeded and tilled the infield while others raked the area. The new two-story structure, which will be constructed in sections at the Penobscot Job Corps Center in Bangor and transported to Orono by November, will provide a new concession facility, an announcer’s booth and storage. The 16-by-20-foot facility will be valued at more than $12,000.

Students from Penobscot Job Corps also were present at Asa Adams Elementary School in Orono, where they cleaned up the school’s softball field.

Students were at the two fields for more than six hours on Thursday and seven hours on Friday.

A “Surfing for Seniors” workshop was held at the Dow Lane building on the Penobscot Job Corps campus on Oct. 21. More than a dozen students and staff assisted senior citizens with hands-on training in becoming proficient with conducting Internet research.

Students also were involved with presentations on the difference between dial-up, cable and DSL Internet services, describing computer components, and describing different Internet service providers that are available.

A dozen carpentry students from Penobscot Job Corps volunteered at Literacy Volunteers of America in Bangor on Oct. 20.

The students assisted with basic maintenance throughout the United Way of Maine facility and assisted with relocating furniture for the nonprofit organization. Forty hours of community service were donated, valued at more than $500, in honor of Job Corps’ 40th anniversary.

Eight Penobscot Job Corps students and staff gathered more than 250 food items during a food drive on Oct. 20. Students went door-to-door to homes on Bangor’s west side for more than 1 1/2 hours Wednesday evening and were warmly received by local residents. The donations were given to the understocked cupboards of Manna food pantry. Bangor area residents who donated were given a card in honor of Make A Difference Day and Penobscot Job Corps’ 40th anniversary.

To date, local contributions have totaled more than $40 during a bottle and can drive Penobscot Job Corps is holding to raise funds for a Hurricane Relief Drive being coordinated by the American Red Cross. Penobscot Job Corps students set a goal of $40 in honor of the 40th anniversary of Job Corps. Students hoped to exceed their goal before the drive concluded Oct. 29. Returnable donations were accepted at the dorms on the Penobscot campus.

Students from Penobscot Job Corps donated the supplies and prepared a beef stew meal at the Bangor Area Home Shelter on Main Street on Oct. 22. Students donated more than $40 dollars of materials for the dinner in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Job Corps.

Students from Penobscot Job Corps donated the supplies and prepared a beef stew meal at the Manna food pantry on Oct. 22. Students donated more than $40 dollars of materials for the dinner in honor of the 40th anniversary of Job Corps. Students also assisted the food kitchen with facilities maintenance, helping to paint sections of the new facility.

Halloween was the main theme as Penobscot Job Corps culinary students teamed up with nearly a dozen 3-year-olds to decorate sugar cookies at Penquis CAP Day Care on Oct. 21. The students and children decorated sugar cookies for nearly two hours. The cookies were preprepared by Job Corps culinary students.

The spirit of giving was in the air Oct. 22 at Fields Pond in Holden. Penobscot Job Corps students spent the day laboring to assist the Audubon Society with laying logs across trails in order to make the area more accessible for wheelchair-bound individuals. Some of the logs were carried nearly a mile into the trails. In return for the students’ intensive efforts, the Audubon Society held a class for the students, educating them about birds found in the area before leading them on a five-mile hike.

Students from Penobscot Job Corps assisted the Friends of Fort Knox for nearly seven hours in preparing the area for the Fright at the Fort on Oct. 20. Students helped to lay sod on top of the fort and spread wood chips around plants in efforts to spruce up the area before thousands converged for a weekend of spooks and haunts at the area attraction. Students also were involved with raking the expansive area. In return, the Friends of Fort Knox provided the students with a tour of the facility and a behind the scenes look at the Fright at the Fort event.

Six students and staff from Penobscot Job Corps assisted with a fall cleaning of the facilities at the Spruce Run Resource Center on Oct. 22. The group sorted through piles of clothes and toys, weeding out the bad and packaging the good. The group also helped to organize sections of the storage facility by locating like items and creating paths through areas that had become overrun.

Penobscot Job Corps also has two projects remaining to be completed in honor of the 40th anniversary of Job Corps and Make A Difference Day.

The optics class at Penobscot Job Corps, under the tutelage of Jeff Bergin, will prepare 40 pairs of glasses for distribution to economically disadvantaged elementary and high school students in the Bangor-Brewer area. Penobscot Job Corps is seeking local optometrists to assist in the program to provide free eye exams.

Glasses will be distributed to students through participating schools. Participating schools will be announced at a later date after final acceptance by school administrations.

The glasses are currently being produced in anticipation of that approval. At an average of $200 a pair, the total donated value of the glasses is estimated at $8,000. Eye exams are valued at about $70 each. The 40 pairs of glasses are being donated in honor of Job Corps’ 40th anniversary.

A free lasagna dinner was held for displaced workers of Eastern Fine Paper formerly in Brewer. More than 300 workers have been invited and about 125 have responded to date. The dinner was held Oct. 28 at University College campus, prepared and served by culinary students from Penobscot Job Corps. The cost of the dinner was covered by Training and Development Corp. Brewer Community Transitional Committee helped with the organization of the event.

Make A Difference Day is America’s greatest day of service. Sponsored by USA Weekend magazine in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation, Make A Difference Day inspires volunteers from all walks of life to give back to their local communities. Job Corps has been a national Make A Difference Day partner since 1999.

This year’s participation means even more to Job Corps. Since 1964, Job Corps has been making a difference in the lives of economically disadvantaged young Americans. For 40 years, Job Corps, a voluntary education and job training program, has offered innovative vocational, academic, and social skills training to meet the changing needs of students at 123 centers nationwide. Job Corps students joined more than 2 million volunteers nationwide in Make A Difference Day activities. For information on Job Corps, visit job

corps.doleta.gov.

Community service is a critical part of the Penobscot Job Corps experience, which focuses on comprehensive academic, vocational and social skills training.

Service allows students to give back to their communities, practice what they’re learning in Job Corps, and build self-esteem, teamwork and leadership skills. Job Corps is the nation’s largest education and training program for economically disadvantaged young adults ages 16-24. With 123 centers in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, this national program serves more than 65,000 young people per year. Penobscot Job Corps works with more than 500 students per year.