People around Chico gathered Saturday to do their part to make a difference in the community.

Chico Make a Difference Day is a day of service where community organizations, as well as students from Butte College and Chico State, come together for a common cause. Volunteers go help out at the Bidwell Park, The Jesus Center, and many more locations.

Rosa-Lee Jimenez is the chairwoman of the Chico Make A Difference Day committee and the CAVE public relations director.

“There are many different service projects,” Jimenez said. “There are individuals helping at the homeless shelter, repainting at some elementary schools and cleaning up Bidwell Park.”

Volunteers were sent out to their sites at 9:30 a.m. and finished up around noon. After the volunteers finished, they came to the Downtown City Plaza for a barbecue cooked up by the Chico Police Officers’ Association.

The committee for Make A Difference Day consisted of Student Life and Leadership from the Chico State Office of Civic Engagement, students from both Chico State and Butte College, and community organizations according to Jimenez.

Make a Difference Day has always been a national movement but has recently disbanded. Though this is the first year Chico has done it as a regional community, overall it’s the third year the city has participated in the movement.

Justin Jackson can be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter @JustJack0176