The sun had barely begun rising and a morning chill still hung around in the air Saturday morning as Liz McGinnis and her 6-year-old daughter, Quinn, plunged their hands into the dirt at Kathryn Park to pull up weeds that had long ago taken root.

“We are pulling all the weeds and trash out of the flowerbeds here to make them a little nicer,” McGinnis said. “That’s why we are volunteering here, to make the city a little nicer and make our community look good.”

First United Methodist Church, on Oak Street in Buchanan, hosted its sixth annual Make a Difference Day from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. For the event, community members came out in droves to volunteer for various community improvement projects at different sites in the city of Buchanan.

Some of the projects tackled during the annual day of service included multiple park clean ups, improvements at Moccasin Elementary School, making blankets for veterans and writing letters to soldiers.

“The point of today is to get more people interested in volunteer work and serving the community,” said Pastor of First United Methodist Church Rob Mcpherson. “It’s something that gives us a sense of contentment. It’s part of what I think God calls us to do, to encourage that service mentality.”

Mcpherson said he is grateful to all the volunteers who participated in Saturday’s day of service and that their work will go a long way toward helping the Buchanan community.

“It think a lot of people do want to go out and contribute to the community, but they don’t know how,” Mcpherson said. “So we help to make that happen by contacting different organizations and setting up projects so they can do that easily. I think people do have that natural desire to do that.”

Several of those who volunteered Saturday agreed with Mcpherson’s remarks and said that they enjoyed giving back to the community.

Even Linda Gunder, a former resident of Buchanan and current Niles resident, made her way to the city for to help out with improvements to Kathryn Park.

“Service days like these are so important. My heart is still in Buchanan,” Gunder said. “We need to give back to the community that has done so much for us. I really think [Make a Difference Day] is great.”

For McGinnis and her daughter, the day not only gave them a chance to give back to their community, but it also gave them a chance to get out in the community and do something that they typically do not get the chance to do.

“I don’t really do stuff like this,” McGinnis’ daughter said. “But I’m excited. It’s fun to help out.”