Residents will have two opportunities in the next couple of weeks to pitch in, bend down, pick up, lift and carry in a collective effort to make the community cleaner and greener for the summer.
The annual community events are a source of pride for residents who see these streets and sidewalks every day. They also are a chance to put Wrangell’s best flowers, benches and footpaths forward for visitors. The town could attract an estimated 33,000 tourists this summer — the most since 2005. It’d be smart to showcase a cleaned-up community, sending all those visitors home with bright, colorful memories to spread the word for future travelers.
Whatever the motivation, there is always room for more volunteers. Think of it as a civic responsibility, like voting, but rather than waiting for the polls to close at night and election workers to tally the votes to determine the winners, the cleanup rewards are instant that afternoon.
And the refreshments are free.
The first community cleanup starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Evergreen Elementary School’s multipurpose room, where organizers will hand out trash bags and gloves for volunteers to spread out around town to clean up along streets, roads and parks. Bring the bags back to the school for dumping in the dumpsters by noon and enjoy a free lunch and prize drawings.
The event, which has been around since the 1980s, drew about 170 volunteers last year, despite miserable weather. The forecast for Saturday looks much better, another reason to take a walk for a cleaner community.
Then, two weeks later, the focus will be on downtown with the Parks and Recreation Department-led Community Collaboration in its third year. Volunteers are invited to come to the downtown pavilion starting at 9 a.m. Friday, May 12, where they can log in, get their assignments and go to work refreshing garden beds, washing benches and trash cans, cutting grass, weeding along the sidewalks and picking up debris.
Refreshments will be served, and tools will be available. Or you can bring your own if you have a favorite rake that never misses a spot and never causes a blister.
Whatever tool you choose, check your schedule and try to find time to help out at one or both of the events.
— Wrangell Sentinel
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