Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "clean up"

Midtown Fall Clean Up

2012-09-14T18:20:35Z

This Saturday Midtown Neighbors, Business Owners & Community Members will come together to beautify the Midtown Community. Join them in celebrating the end of summer by cleaning up Midtown!

The Midtown Business Association is partnering with the Midtown Neighborhood Association, the Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association, and the Marshall School/New Era Park Neighborhood Association to host a fall clean up with the support of The Volunteer Center of Sacramento.

Volunteers will remove trash and help beautify the Midtown Community from 16th Street to 29th Street, from G to O Streets, or beyond if there is more litter to be found!

Coffee and snacks will be provided in the morning when you arrive at 2020 J Street, and lunch will be provided for volunteers after the cleanup at 11:30am.

Let’s work together to make Midtown clean and litter free!

CLICK HERE to RSVP

Disclosure: Heather Philpott is the Communication & Events Manager at the Midtown Business Association and is a producer of the Midtown Fall Clean Up.

Youth volunteers clean up Curtis Park

2011-10-24T05:57:22Z

As the sunlight crept through the thick leaves of Curtis Park Saturday morning, the sight of youth volunteers cleaning up dried leaves welcomed joggers and dog-walkers on the park.

Twelve youth volunteers cleaned up Curtis Park from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. as part of the youth programs provided by the La Familia Counseling Family Resource Center and Hmong Women's Heritage Association. Staffers of the two associations supervised the youth volunteers.

"It has given us the motivation to come together and focus to work with youths at risk that are living in the same communities," La Familia youth specialist Vidal Gonzalez said about the two groups collaborating. "Why don't we go ahead have activities where everybody can come in, rather than focusing on one specific ethnic community at a time, since we’re all living in the same space and share the same parks too?"

Cristo Rey High School student Bryan Maldonado,14, and The Met High School student Martin Ochoa,15, joked around while shoveling leaves into a wheelbarrow, while Juan Maldonado,18, brother of Bryan and also a student of Cristo Rey, just finished piling up leaves.

"It's pretty fun," Ochoa said. "You actually feel like you really have a voice, and you get to help the community." He learned of the program from his sister who invited him to join. He has been with the group for three months.

Gonzalez said the youths are volunteers and are given a $100 stipend after completing the three-month community service. They are also required to be present on weekly meetings and program events.

"It's great to see community service in action," Curtis Park resident Carmel Brown said. "I wish more of our residents are doing this work."

Hmong Women's Heritage youth advocate Nai Saechao said this is the first time the two organizations worked together for a community service program. In the past they have had youths come together from different groups to network and get to know each other.

Curtis Park is the second park the La Familia volunteers have cleaned up this year and first with Hmong Women’s Heritage. They had their first cleanup at Tahoe Park two months ago. Gonzalez added that Curtis Park was chosen for the cleanup because of its close proximity to their youth center, which is located at 34th Street and Fruitridge Road.

"We take requests, too,” Gonzalez said. “If someone knows of a good park that they they feel is being neglected, we’re more than willing to look into it and see if our kids can go out there to clean it up a little bit.”

Below is an audio slideshow presentation of the Curtis Park cleanup.

Volunteers Prepare For "Park Clean-Up Day"

2011-03-17T17:20:31Z

Spring is in the air and volunteers in the Tahoe Park neighborhood are eagerly preparing for their first "Park Clean-Up Day" of the year.
After organizing two successful clean-up events in the area last fall, event organizers hope to attract a large enough group of volunteers this Saturday to have yet another triumphant event at their local park.

Late last year, the Tahoe Park Neighborhood Association was awarded a $1000 dollar grant by "Gift-To-Share, Inc." with the purpose of
purchasing tools and equipment for clean-up events. Recently, board members of TPNA obtained these tools and will be making them available for the first time during this volunteer effort.

Tahoe Park is used by hundreds of residents every day for many different reasons. Some people come out to use the jogging path, while others walk their dogs of all shapes and sizes under the dozens of trees that adorn the park. The playground, basketball court, baseball fields, and horseshoe pits are also thoroughly enjoyed by children and adults alike.

TPNA hopes by organizing these events the park will remain attractive and safe for citizens to use well into the future. Events like this are also designed with community interaction in mind. Neighbors are encouraged to interact with one another and nominate sites for future clean-up events in the area.

Volunteers will be meeting at the park this Saturday, March 19th at 8:30 a.m., rain or shine. Snacks, juice, and coffee will be provided to participants. While volunteers fill out their release forms, speakers from the neighborhood association and the city will briefly talk about the benefits of civil engagement and volunteerism. All participants will be entered into a raffle drawing for one of several prizes which will be awarded towards the end of the event at 11:30.

WHAT: Tahoe Park Clean-Up Day

WHEN: This Saturday, March 19th starting at 8:30. Raffle will be at 11:30

WHERE: Tahoe Park, 3501 59TH Street, Sacramento. Meeting point is near the basketball court, look for the yellow signs.

For more information please visit www.tahoe-park.org or email
isaacTPNA@gmail.com

Isaac Gonzalez is a board member of the TPNA

500 Needed for Galleria cleanup

2010-10-24T00:41:58Z

A local company will take resumes on Sunday and Monday to find cleanup workers.

Details here.

Sacramento cleans riverfront

2010-09-27T02:10:28Z

Sacramento rolled up its sleeves and filled trash bags Saturday for the 16th annual Great American River Clean Up led by the American River Parkway Foundation. More than 2,000 people volunteered their time to clear 11,361 pounds of trash and 7,002 pounds of recyclables from 22 waterfront sites. About 47 miles of waterfront were cleaned, including high-traffic sites such as River Bend Park and Discovery Park.

The cleanup coincided with California Coastal Cleanup Day, an annual statewide effort led by the California Coastal Commission that has about 80,000 volunteers annually. Sacramento’s participation has nearly doubled since last year.

At William B. Pond Park in Carmichael, about 180 volunteers wandered around the riverside looking for trash to fill their bags.

Site captain Natasha Deegan said the cleanup is a family event and brings together people who are personally invested in local environmental efforts.

By the riverside, people threw sticks for their dogs and volunteers searched for trash.

“This one of the most beautiful stretches of the river,” volunteer Sylvia Stork said.

Stork and her husband were trying to find a spot with lots of trash so they could contribute to the community effort. People are more aware of environmental issues than they used to be, Stork said.

“People leave stuff behind, but mostly now I think it’s not a conscious decision,” she said. “It’s not as bad as it used to be.”

Volunteer Edgar Herrera from South Sacramento said he works nearby and sometimes uses the park during his lunch breaks. Cleaning up the park seemed logical to him, he said.

“If nobody does nothing, nothing happens,” Herrera said. “Cigarette butts are popular,” he noted as he searched the ground.

“It’s going to take a lot of cigarette butts to fill up this bag,” Denis White, a nearby volunteer, said.

White, who attended the cleanup with his wife and two daughters, said he thought the cleanup was a good idea, but because that section of the river was virtually his backyard, he felt responsible for cleaning it up.

“I’m pleased to see all these other people helping clean up my backyard,” he said.

After volunteers finished gathering their trash, the trash was sorted to be taken to the correct facilities.

One man digging through the collected trash was a representative from Dart, a company that makes food packaging products, including products made from foam.

It was Michael Westerfield’s third year at the event, and he said that foam gets a bad rap.

“We’re looking for ways to increase awareness that our products are recyclable,” he said.

As a company that manufactures products designed to be disposed, Westerfield said it is very important to educate the public about happens to waste and recyclables after they're thrown away.

Dianna Poggetto, executive director of the American River Parkway Foundation, said this year’s cleanup was a huge success. Environmental awareness has increased and with recent budget cuts, many people are concerned about what will happen to the parks and rivers, Poggetto said.

“The number of people who turned out, it proves how important the river and parkway are to the community,” she said.

Helping the environment

2009-06-22T17:35:45Z

Who would ever think of local scuba divers as Environmentalists?

Well we surprised everyone by removing 60 lbs of trash, debris and metal this Father's day weekend. There was a nice turnout. Everyone was surprised by the "clean" look of Lake Tahoe. When they went under the surface they were surprised to find beer tabs (from the '70's), old cans, sunglasses, a sailboat mast, car parts, tables, chairs, etc.

I first suggested Hurricane Bay after diving there last year and observing the ammount of trash in such a popular fishing site. With all of the moorings and boat usage it is not a wonder how much debris is there.

After our work, we all enjoyed a bbq and played in the water. I would like to thank SACSCUBA, Andy's Scuba World and Fish Eye Scuba for helping out by sending divers. Keeping our environment clean and making an effort to recycle as much as we can I believe really helps out. As an avid boater and diver, I would like to remind everyone to have fun on the lakes this summer. Please also take the time to haul out and separate all of your trash.

I look forward to seeing more people taking an interest in keeping our trash out of the lakes, streams and oceans this summer as we all enjoy our water. Remember a little bit of effort goes a long way and that is what made this Father's day such a fun day. Our trail walkers, bike riders, snorkelers and divers each had a great time helping out. Even the kids and dogs were excited to help clean up. Enjoy the summer.