STUDENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE KIDS SUFFERING FROM CANCER FIND THEIR WISHES ARE GRANTED.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

VALENCIA - As a handful of College of the Canyons students finished wrapping a mound of gifts Saturday for the second annual Make A Difference Day, they weren't sure who would be more affected by their deeds - the 25 children with cancer or themselves.

``That's the only reason I'm here, because of the kids,'' said Marie Hall, 19, a student and AmeriCorps volunteer. ``I don't know what to expect when we give the kids their gifts. I'm going to try not to cry, but it will be hard.''

While altruists across the country spent Saturday doing good deeds in their communities - beautifying schools, running food drives, gathering old eyeglasses for those in need - the college's AmeriCorps volunteers granted the wishes of 25 Santa Clarita children battling cancer. Michael Hoefflin Foundation for Children's Cancer, an organization formed in 1994 to help in the fight against childhood cancer, asked 25 local children to make a gift wish list. While the brave youths knew they'd receive one gift from their list, being lavished with every one of their entries was a grand surprise.

``We delivered some roller-blade skates to a little girl who loves to play roller hockey,'' said Chris Hoefflin, who with his wife, Sue, founded the nonprofit organization while their son battled cancer. ``She's the youngest in the family so she always seems to get hand-me-downs.

``This was her first pair of brand new skates. She was absolutely thrilled,'' he said. ``She was just beaming with excitement. It's always heart-warming for the parents to see people ready to help their children.''

The Hoefflins' son, Michael, lost his battle with brain cancer in 1996, when he was 10.

One 13-year-old girl asked for tickets to the National Rodeo held every year in Las Vegas. Her wish was granted, times four: She received four tickets, backstage passes to meet the riders and hotel accommodations for the girl and her family.

``That was the most expensive wish we granted,'' said Allison Devlin, AmeriCorps coordinator for College of the Canyons. ``There were lots of requests for anything with Spiderman. Everything from a PlayStation to a plane ticket to Baltimore. And Legos, Legos are big.''

Various on-campus clubs agreed to sponsor one or more of the Michael Hoefflin Foundation children, donating the money to cover all the items on the wish lists.

Nearly 300 volunteers from across the Santa Clarita Valley came together Saturday for dozens of projects for Make A Difference Day, including a trip to the Child and Family Center to clean toys and playground equipment.

Others descended on the SCV Pregnancy Center armed with mops, buckets and tools to clean walls, rugs and install screen doors, while another group designed and painted a mural at the behavioral health unit at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.

Last year's event drew more than 150 volunteers with shovels, paint brushes and other tools, according to organizers.

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(1 -- 2) College of the Canyons student Jennifer McMains, 19, loads a box with toys to be distributed to kids with cancer, while a wrapped gift and card, left, await delivery to a child Saturday at Henry Mayor Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia.

Andy Holtzman/Staff Photographer