For some 1,000 high school athletes yesterday, giving back meant taking away, as in the cleanup of thousands of pounds of beer bottles, Styrofoam coolers, broken rubber slippers and other garbage from district parks around Oahu.

Like thousands of other Hawaii residents around the state — and an estimated 3 million Americans nationwide — the students embraced Make A Difference Day as a way to make a statement while improving the lives of others.

Against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty, Americans of all stripes mobilized in a wide variety of one-day efforts to raise the spirits and fortunes of their communities.

In New York, a thousand volunteers planted 20,000 trees at 15 parks in support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's MillionTreesNYC initiative.

In Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined elementary school students in painting murals.

Of Make A Difference Day he said, "We love it. My kids have been looking forward to it for a couple weeks. It's inspiring and beautiful to see millions of Americans mobilize."

Elsewhere around the District, volunteers shelved library books, painted walls, planted gardens and gathered trash under the auspices of Mayor Adrian Fenty's volunteering office Serve DC and the nonprofit Greater DC Cares.

In Mississippi, 97-year-old Leola Dillard collected truckloads of clothes, furniture and other donations for the needy in the area.

On Oahu, Make A Difference projects addressed community needs on a variety of fronts, from cleanups at Waikíkí Beach and the Honolulu Zoo to a collection of toiletries for the homeless that was sponsored by Makalapa Elementary School.

For the Hawaii student athletes, Make A Difference Day was a chance to say thank you for the public's support of the Save Our Sports fundraising drive, which is collecting money to help high school athletic programs survive budget cuts.

To date, the drive has collected more than $1.2 million.

TEENS TEND PARKS

Yesterday, students from 23 public high schools and the private Punahou School spread out to Ala Moana Beach Park, Oneula Beach Park, Mäili Beach Park, Haleiwa Beach Park, Kokololio Beach Park, Sandy Beach and Waimänalo Beach Park to try to make the parks more hospitable to locals and tourists.

"The students wanted to come out and clean our city and county parks as a way of giving back and giving thanks," said Keith Amemiya, executive director of the Hawaii High School Sports Association.

As a safety on the Pearl City football team, junior Ronsyn Barrett is accustomed to covering wide expanses of open field. Yesterday, he and his teammates scoured the Magic Island area of Ala Moana Beach Park for leaves, garbage and other blights to the environment.

"We just want to give back to the community," he said. "This is just our way of being thankful."

Nearby, Roosevelt High School freshman Heewon Lee and her peers from Leo Club edged along the rocks near the boat harbor, plucking water-logged shoes, algae-covered bicycle parts and a few items they'd rather forget from the water.

"We want to make it cleaner so people will have a better environment when they visit," she said.

Senior Ayanna Lindborg and her Aiea High School volleyball teammates were also at the park, collecting rubbish wherever they could find it.

Lindborg said she and her teammates enjoy doing community service whenever they can — even when, like yesterday, they have practice in the afternoon.

"The best thing about this is it gives kids an opportunity to lead by example," said Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. "People see what they're doing and they're inspired to do something on their own. Hopefully, the kids will remember this and continue to work for their communities."

AT LUNALILO HOME

A contingent of trustees, administrators, physicians and staff from The Queen's Medical Center spent yesterday beautifying Lunalilo Home, the state's oldest elder-care facility.

In keeping with the medical center's 150th anniversary, 150 volunteers painted interiors and exteriors, and did landscaping duties at the Hawaii Kai property.

"We do a lot of community service projects, but this was by far the most rewarding," said Queen's volunteer manager Beverly Parker. "I can't wait to see (the residents') faces when they see what we've done. Today was such a joy."

Mark Gwinner, landscape design and development manager at Queen's, said he enjoyed the opportunity to join co-workers in a project outside the workplace.

"The enthusiasm was building during the week as we were doing prep work here," he said. "It was fun being able to use all of our talents in a different context."

Gwinner led a team of volunteers in beautifying the entryway to the facility and planting native Hawaiian plants donated by Nii Nursery.

Medical director Dr. Gerard Akaka, who spent his morning stacking mulch and transporting it by wheelbarrow to landscapers, said he appreciated the chance to get his hands dirty.

"It was hard labor but it was very gratifying," he said. "Personally, I really enjoyed being able to give back to our kupuna and to support what this home stands for."

Organizers noted that it was King Lunalilo's bequeathal of lands (including the property on which the International Market Place now stands) to Queen Emma that enabled the queen to found and maintain The Queen's Medical Center.

"We're very aware of Hawaiian history and the fact that some of our endowment comes from land given to Queen Emma by King Lunalilo," said Queen's board member Paul Aoki. "I think we'll always have a relationship through that."

DONATING BOOKS

At Kaiulani Elementary School in Kalihi, teachers, parents and students loaded tons of books, periodicals and other out-of-use educational materials into a 20-foot container bound for Chuuk, one of the Federated States of Micronesia.

"Schools in Chuuk barely have enough to cover operating expenses, let alone supplies," said state Rep. Glenn Wakai, who was on hand to help load the truck. "These items will greatly enhance their ability to educate their students."

The drive had special meaning for Kaiulani students and parents. Roughly 40 percent of the school's student body is Micronesian, most from Chuuk, according to principal Thomas Moon.

Most of the items donated came from the school and its individual teachers.

Palama Settlement and other community organizations also made sizeable donations.

Moon said the educational materials are too outdated for use in the school but are still valuable to schools and organizations in Chuuk, which does not have public libraries.

"Some of the materials might be out of date, but thinking skills never go out of date," Moon said.