It's that time of the year again when folks can start planning their next good deed for October's Make a Difference Day.

Make a Difference Day is Oct. 25 and organizers suggest participants use the month of August to begin their strategy.

Thinking about what can be improved in the community and considering ways to tackle a problem are a good start. Sharing ideas and forming alliances with other Make a Difference Day participants can also be beneficial.

Organizers offer these suggestions: cleaning up an elderly neighbor's house, mobilizing the block to replant, repairing a local park, or visiting the lonely, institutionalized or elderly. Natural disasters also offer opportunities for people to help in times of despair.

Local nonprofits and schools are in touch with community needs, as well as local Chambers of Commerce, which may have community improvement plans. Local governments and public officials could also help identify needs.

While most people who volunteer for Make a Difference Day aren't usually looking for publicity, participants still receive honors for their hard work. Last year, 20 group and individual participants and their projects were listed in The Herald. Those groups set out to make something positive happen in their communities or to brighten someone else's day.

Each year in April, hundreds of local, state or national projects are selected through USA Weekend for honors. Actor Paul Newman, national award judge and owner of Newman's Own products, supports the efforts with donations of $10,000 each to 10 projects in the country. The money goes toward the charities of their choice. Wal-Mart, Make a Difference Day's retail supporter, donates $2,000 to two projects in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The Herald also features the local honoree, which last year was Mercer County Housing Authority's VISTA Team, which made aprons for women in Guatemala.

This month, USA Weekend -- which can be found in the Sunday Herald -- will begin publishing stories about the annual event and encouraging readers to take part. Entry forms and related articles will also be published almost weekly through October. Forms and brief descriptions of what others have done in the past can be found on the Web site at makeadifferenceday.com. The Make a Difference Day hotline at 1-800-416-3824 gives advice on any volunteer topic and helps with identifying a project.

So start planning. Make a Difference Day is only 12 weeks away.