Fifteen hundred Santa Clarita Valley residents are expected to participate in the 11th annual “Make a Difference Day” event Saturday, Oct. 22.

Hosted locally by HandsOn Santa Clarita in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita, the event concides with the National Day of Volunteering, America’s largest day of volunteer service. Across the SCV and around the country, families and volunteer teams from businesses, schools, churches and service clubs will donate their time and talents to projects designed to improve their community.

Santa Clarita has one of the largest contingencies in the country, according to local organizers.

The day begins with a kick-off rally at the Hyatt Valencia at 9 a.m. From there, the various teams will depart to their work locations, which involve a variety of projects including food drives, landscaping, painting, clean-ups and building repair.

Some of the local organizations receiving help this year are Carousel Ranch, the Child and Family Center, Boys and Girls Club of SCV,  SCV Food Pantry, Gibbon Conservation Center, Help the Children, LARC Ranch, Gentle Barn, SCV Senior Center, SCV Historical Society and numerous schools throughout the valley.

This year’s sponsors include Aquafine Corp., ITT Aerospace Controls, Donaldson Filtration Solutions, Princess Cruises Community Foundation, Nexus, Lowe’s, The Home Depot and Hyatt Regency Valencia.