Great Indy Cleanup
(special feature published April 2008 in the Indianapolis Star)
2008 plan of attack
The Great Indy Cleanup is about to kick off its first weekend of several months of community building and the sprucing up of Indianapolis neighborhoods. The yearly program of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful will officially be underway with an opening ceremony on Saturday, April 26, at the University of Indianapolis. Nearly 10,000 volunteers representing over 50 neighborhood organizations will gather for the opening weekend, and this year's citywide neighborhood cleanup efforts will continue every weekend through October 25.
This opening event represents Indianapolis' longtime participation in Keep America Beautiful, Inc., which is active in more than 200 communities across the United States and attracts over 2 million volunteers each year. Keep Indianapolis Beautiful has been working to create connections with neighborhoods, sponsors, and the public since 1978. It is estimated that last year's Great Indy Cleanup removed over two million pounds of litter and debris across the 277 neighborhoods that participated.
Jeff Cardwell is president of the Gateway Business Alliance, a non-profit group which is sponsoring and organizing the event. Cardwell hopes to inspire everyone to take action in cleaning their own community. "We have about 8 different satellite areas that we're working on now, and it just continues to grow every year."
Mayor Ballard will be on hand at the University of Indianapolis for the big opening event, which will begin with registration at 7:00 a.m., and initiate the cleanup program in the University Heights neighborhood as well as in other communities.
In addition to hosting the opening ceremony, the University also contributes hundreds of volunteers. Nancy Collins, the school's administrative assistant in community relations, is the volunteer coordinator, and encourages anyone and everyone to volunteer on cleanup projects. "We are pushing for curb appeal," Collins said. "We're going to clean up the sidewalks and curbs, pick up trash, limbs, and debris. We're going to clean up around the railroad tracks that run through that neighborhood, and go from there."
Volunteers can make themselves useful with almost any skills they have to offer. Participants can bring their own gloves and rakes or borrow from the trailer of supplies and tools, and corporate sponsors donate things like trash bags. "If people just show up, we can give them whatever they need to pitch in," said Cardwell. "We like to say 'If you can stand on two feet, have a heartbeat, and breathe, you qualify. Just come with a servant's heart.'"
Ruth Ann Walker has organized over 5,000 volunteers with Warren Pride, the largest of the city's cleanup programs, which is sponsored by the Warren Township Development Association. She said that the reason Indianapolis' cleanup efforts are so successful is because volunteers work hard to ensure "detailed coordination and production," and because the results are so plain to see. "People are confident that these programs are worth preserving, because they protect the environment and property values, and citizens feel a sense of pride and responsibility that keeps them contributing to such a worthy community organization."
2008 goals
Jeff Cardwell, a main organizer of the Great Indy Cleanup: "One goal is to get everyone involved in their own community. All neighborhoods are encouraged to organize their own efforts, and it just continues to grow every year."
Ruth Ann Walker, Warren Pride organizer: "One goal is to educate about the impact of visual appearance and curb appeal on our township, city, and county. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and you want to put your best 'curb appeal' forward to a prospective home-buyer or developer. We also want to retain existing business and attract new businesses, as well as protect and preserve our environment."
Who is supporting the project and how?
The Great Indy Cleanup is truly a community project on every level, relying on corporations, businesses, and individuals to provide the supplies, resources, and just plain muscle power to make the citywide effort a success. The Indianapolis Department of Public Works is supplying supply trash trucks and dumpsters, for example, through the partnership with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful.
The generosity of business partners and the Indianapolis Fire and Police Departments are also key to the program's success, said Ruth Ann Walker. Walker organizes the more than 5,000 people involved in the Warren Pride cleanup efforts. "I believe everyone should consider helping," Walker said. "Every citizen, young and old, is a stakeholder in their community. Citizen involvement is why Warren Pride and other projects like it are successful."
"The project is being supported by businesses, corporations, and individuals, who are sharing everything from materials to man power," according to Jeff Cardwell, one of the event's main organizers. "It's business, corporate and individual-sponsored, in terms of materials and supplies." Cardwell is president of the Gateway Business Alliance, a partner in the cleanup project. It's a 501C3 non-profit organization supported by donations from people from all walks of life.
Then, as Cardwell said, "It's all about people power. And it's something for the entire family, which is something that is key to all of this. You have the opportunity to do something hand-in-hand with your children, your entire family young and old, and it sends a great message. Everybody wants to keep a clean neighborhood, and build a nice community, and this is a chance for all of us to put words into action, and make our communities a better place to live, work, and raise our families."
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