Here’s a chance to help make community shine

9:46 PM Saturday, March 27, 2010

Clark County has a variety of beautiful places, both natural and man-made: the Mad River winding past busy highways, the towering façade of the Heritage Center, the tree-studded contours of Snyder Park, the beautifully restored Westcott House and many more.

Keeping those sites clean and beautiful takes a lot of effort. Public workers and private businesses put a lot of money and time into landscaping, picking up litter and maintaining structures.

Many of the public places in Springfield and Clark County could not be kept clean and beautiful without the efforts of volunteers. Anyone who wants to help improve our community’s environment is invited to join Keep Clark County Beautiful (KCCB) in the annual Great American Cleanup.

KCCB works to encourage Clark County residents to take pride, ownership and responsibility for enhancing our community’s environment. Each spring, KCCB participates in the Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest organized annual cleanup, beautification and community improvement program.

Now in its 18th year in Clark County, the cleanup brings together volunteers to pick up litter in any public place any time between March 1 and May 31. Public places include parks, playgrounds, school grounds, roadways or waterways.

The Great American Cleanup brings together hundreds of people to make a striking difference in Clark County’s appearance. In 2009, more than 755 volunteers picked up more than 20,000 pounds of litter. (That’s over 10 tons!)

Removing litter and beautifying public places has an impact beyond the surface appearance. Dirty neighborhoods do not attract new businesses or shoppers to existing businesses.

Graffiti and broken glass signal that people don’t care about their surroundings, which criminals often interpret as an invitation to prey upon those areas.

Turning around the look of a neighborhood can bring a new spirit of caring that brings people together to tackle a variety of problems.

If you want to help with this kind of community improvement, please join in the Great American Cleanup. It’s easy to register: Simply call the Clark County Waste Management District at 521-2025 or go to the District’s Web site, www.32TRASH.org, to download a registration form.

Many people like to form groups to do cleanups together. Groups can be from families, workplaces, classrooms, civic organizations, veterans groups or churches.

Each group receives two trash bags and a pair of gloves per person. Volunteers also receive a small token of appreciation – a reusable shopping bag for adults and a KCCB wristband for children.

Volunteers who complete their cleanup and return a survey also are also eligible to win prizes donated by local merchants. Students can earn community-service hours through the cleanup.

Prospective volunteers who want to be part of a big event may consider registering for the Great Downtown Cleanup, a major beautification drive targeted at the heart of Springfield. We expect 50 to 100 volunteers to turn out to pick up litter, plant flowers, wash sidewalks and generally spruce up downtown.

The event, co-sponsored by the Center City Association, will be 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 24, with a celebration lunch to follow. To participate, please register by April 19 so we can have an accurate count for lunch.

Whether you want to clean up downtown or a rural area, at a school or a park, in a field or by a waterway, the Great American Cleanup provides an opportunity for anyone to make a difference in Clark County’s environment.

Please set aside a few hours to help “Keep Clark County Beautiful.” Thank you for your help.

Charles Patterson is Clark County Health Commissioner and the board president of Keep Clark County Beautiful.

Share this article