Volunteering as part of the annual Make a Difference Day, a national effort encouraging community service, local participants said the work was a satisfying experience.

"I'm here because my kids love to be part of this cleanup day," said Arleta resident Josefina Marin, leading a crew of about 20 people, primarily Volunteer Center of Los Angeles employees and their children.

The center, a volunteer networking agency, brought about 200 volunteers together to clean up the streets, gutters and yards of North Hills.

"I'm actually off (today) for vacation," Marin said. "But this is very important."

Marin said the example the volunteerism sets for children will be long-lasting.

For Marin's son, Luis Perez, 14, that lesson is already paying off. "I always feel pretty upset when I see people trashing places," said Perez. "And I know I don't want to be one of those people."

Members of the California State University, Northridge, group Beta Alpha Psi, a national honors coed accounting fraternity, put their books and calculators down to join a work crew.

"I had a shovel, other people had other tools," said Amer Nackoud, director of community service for the fraternity. "We picked up dirt, papers, leaves, broken glass."

Fraternity member Virlena Bascos said she thinks there is a tangible connection between her fraternity members and the North Hills community they helped.

"We're all people of abundance," Bascos said of her fraternity members. "(The community's) taxes are going toward our education."

Bascos said she hopes the effort will inspire others to do the same.

"If people would clean up, that cohesiveness, that synergy will really make a difference," Bascos said.

The Ladies Auxiliary at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2805 in Canoga Park have been making a difference for a number of years, donating services and items to various San Fernando Valley charities.

On Saturday, members delivered food, clothing, toys and other items worth about $5,000 to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, which helps the area's needy.

"They let the homeless people come in and take a shower," Ladies Auxiliary member Monica Gilbertson said. "They're the only place (that the homeless can) get a shower in the West Valley."

Gilbertson said that an event like Saturday's reminds people that it really is better to give than to receive.

"People talk about instant gratification," Gilbertson said. "When they see these people come to these shelters, getting food, getting clothing, that's it."

In Los Angeles at the Downtown Women's Center, Soroptimist International of the Verdugos and the Western Region Wellness/Flu Fighters provided free tetanus and flu shots as well as immunization shots for hepatitis B for homeless women.

The Soroptimists - an international organization that provides services to women and girls - also handed out care packages containing things like socks, underwear, raincoats and gloves, as well as lipstick, perfume and nail polish.

The women particularly appreciated touches like flowers on the tables where they ate a hot meal.

"We tried to make it a home for them, a home they could realize. (We) wanted them to feel like queens for a day," said Nancy Hathaway, the Verdugos chapter's charter president. "It brought tears to our eyes. We were there for them, and it turned out they were there for us."

Rick Coca, (818) 713-3634

rick.coca@dailynews.com