NEW YORK – The Loukoumi Make A Difference Day is Saturday, October 27 with over 100,000 participating nationwide, doing good deeds across the country. The Loukoumi Good Deed Bus will be making stops in Astoria, the Bronx, Manhattan, and New Rochelle where the Make A Difference Day Celebration will be held at Holy Trinity Church.

Bus Stop #1 is set for 10 AM-2 PM at Astoria Park in Queens where the volunteers will help clean up the park. Loukoumi Foundation President Nick Katsoris shared the information with The National Herald, noting that “kids on our bus will start at 10 AM followed by St. Demetrios School students at 11:30. In between at 11 AM, the Queens Library will be reading good deed-themed books on the lawn.  Meet us at the Parking Lot near 19th Street and Hoyt Avenue North. Our bus stop sponsor Ford Lincoln of Queens will be showcasing the all new Lincoln line-up of cars including the Lincoln Navigator. For every test drive, Lincoln has agreed to donate up to $30 per person to The Loukoumi Foundation (up to a total donation of $8,000). Join us to clean a park, read a good book, and drive a great car!”

Bus Stop #2 – 1-3 PM at Fordham University, in the Bronx, NY: “Join us on Family Weekend, together with Fordham Kiwanis and Up ’til dawn, and make a card and donate $1 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” Katsoris said.

Bus Stop #3 – Broadway’s Come from Away will be honored. The Loukoumi Good Deed Bus will make a stop in Manhattan to present the producers of the Tony Award-winning musical Come From Away with a Loukoumi Make A Difference Award and also to deliver letters to them from the kids for the 9/11 Tribute Museum. Katsoris noted that “this stop is open to bus riders only, but if you would like to make a card please give them to us at one of the bus stops and we will deliver.”

Bus Stop #4 – 6-10 PM: The 4th Annual Make A Difference Day Celebration at Holy Trinity Church 10 Mill Road in New Rochelle features food, fun, and a DJ as well as ways to continue making a difference. Participants can make a card to send to the children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, color a bookmark to donate with a children’s book, participate in anti-bullying activities, enter the charity basketball free throw competition, and donate items for those in need. Among the items needed are children’s books (new and slightly used), coats, clothing, new white athletic socks, new pajamas (sizes infant-18) and canned goods. More information including a more detailed list of items to donate is available online: loukoumifoundation.org.