The second annual Great Days of Service for Bonham is set for Saturday, October 20. Organizers are seeking community volunteers who are interested in joining this effort to clean up the town, help elderly neighbors, feed the hungry and visit nursing homes.

The day will begin with check-in and breakfast at the Family Life Center from 8:00 to 9:00 am. From 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, community volunteers will be dispatched across town to complete four types of community service projects. Volunteers will return to the Family Life Center from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. to celebrate the accomplishments and get some nourishment.

One service project is Home Improvement. Volunteers will rake leaves, trim bushes and complete small home projects for elderly or disabled neighbors. One team of volunteers will also work at the Fannin County Pregnancy Care Center.

The second area of service will be Community Clean-up. Community volunteers will be dispatched to various locations in Bonham to pick up trash and clean-up. This year the Willow Wild Cemetery Association has joined the effort, so a team of volunteers will be going to the cemetery to mow, trim and clean-up. Other teams will clean up public parks, the downtown area, and other locations.

The third service project is the Food Drive. Brookshire’s will be collecting canned good donations at their store beginning Oct 1. Bonham schools will each be conducting a food drive from Oct 8 – 19. Many of other the Great Days of Service partners will be collecting food too. On Saturday, Oct 20, volunteers will sort the canned goods and divide them among the five local organizations who feed hungry people, including the Basic Food Pantry, Boyd Baptist Church, Fannin County Community Ministries, Fannin County Family Crisis Center and Manna House.

Nursing Home Visitations is the fourth service project. Volunteers will go to six different locations around Bonham to visit elderly and disabled. Organizers are especially looking for volunteers who can sing, dance, play music or otherwise entertain residents.

People who want to participate are asked to register on-line at www.gds-bonham.org by Oct 10.

New this year is the opportunity to purchase a Great Days of Service t-shirt. Those volunteers who choose not to purchase a shirt are asked to wear purple on Oct 20. Most shirts will cost $10. Order forms are available on the website www.gds-bonham.org. Order forms and money are due Oct 10.

Last year, around 250 community volunteers picked up 105 bags of trash, did yard work at three homes of elderly people, visited four nursing homes and collected around 6,000 canned goods.