As wild animals tracked their every move, a swarm of eager volunteers weeded, raked, painted and otherwise spiffed up the Honolulu Zoo — all part of an ambitious grounds beautification project.

Meanwhile, at the Bishop Museum, a team of some two dozen koa cleaners camped overnight to get an early morning jump on polishing the facility's exotic woodwork.

So it went yesterday. There were beach cleanups, graffiti scrubbings and food, clothing and book drives. All over the Islands thousands of charitable folks devoted their time to the annual Make A Difference Day celebration.

In Keokea in North Kohala on the Big Island, military Samaritans scraped and painted the plantation-style home of an elderly auntie.

In Hilo, a passel of bag-toting litter eradicators duly recorded every scrap of debris they snagged along 4 Mile Beach from James Kealoha Park to Carlsmith Park.

Difference-makers numbering in the hundreds in Kailua were eager to deliver at least 1,000 pounds of rice to the Hawai'i Foodbank.

Some acts of kindness were for amusement only. A dozen or so kindly elves put together a "Mini Carnival" for residents at Kuakini Nursing Home. The fun and games included beanbag, ring and balloon tosses, as well as fishing, bowling and basketball stations.

Last year 3 million people across the nation participated in thousands of Make A Difference Day activities.

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.