As many as 700 volunteers are expected to gather in Yakima on Saturday, April 12th to help clean up the city. The City of Yakima Office of Neighborhood Development Services (“ONDS”) in partnership with Safe Yakima, the City of Yakima Refuse Dept., City of Yakima Streets Dept., Yakima Waste Systems, and the Yakima County Court Dept., is coordinating the event. Many of the volunteers are coming from area churches as part of the “Season of Service” program.
“We need all the volunteers we can get because this will be a huge cleanup endeavor,” said ONDS Manager Archie Matthews.
Anyone who would like to volunteer is asked to gather in the parking lot of Albertson’s on North 16th Avenue at 8:30 am on Saturday. From there, volunteers will be divided into work crews that will spend a good part of the day painting over graffiti, cleaning up alleyways, and helping remove litter and trash.
The targeted areas for cleanup are primarily located in the North-Central and Northeast portions of Yakima. Heavy emphasis will be placed on neighborhoods north of Lincoln Avenue and south of Fruitvale Blvd between 16th Avenue and 5th Avenue. Volunteers will also be working along North 1st Street pulling weeds, picking up trash, sweeping sidewalks, and painting over graffiti as well as doing general cleanup work around the Yakima Valley Visitor Information Center on Fair Avenue.
During a similar cleanup effort in 2012, more than 60 tons of garbage were hauled away. This year, salvage crews will also be on hand to collect scrap metal and appliances for recycling. The community cleanup effort on Saturday is expected to be finished by 2:00 pm.
For additional information or questions concerning this event, please contact the City of Yakima Office of Neighborhood Development Services at 575-6101.
Community Clean Up Event News Release pdf