Thanks to LDS Volunteers For Helping With Community Clean Up

By

Contact: Parks & Rec Manager Ken Wilkinson – 576-6416
Community Relations Manager Randy Beehler – 901-1142 – randy.beehler@yakimawa.gov

Volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“LDS”) wards in the Yakima area joined forces with staff from State Fair Park, the City of Yakima Refuse Division, and the City’s Parks and Recreation Division to spruce up very visible areas of the community on Saturday, September 15th.

A BIG YAKIMA THANKS goes to the LDS volunteers from the Yakima City Council and City of Yakima employees.

During the September 15th community clean up, one crew of LDS volunteers worked at Kiwanis Park helping clean up a pond and the Apple Valley Kiwanis Skate Park.  Another crew focused on the Yakima Visitors Information Center and the traffic triangle a few blocks away at the intersection of 9th Street and MLK, Jr. Boulevard.  A third LDS crew was at State Fair Park assisting staff there to prepare the grounds for the upcoming Central Washington State Fair.

The City of Yakima is developing a plan to utilize volunteers for several community clean up efforts in 2013 and then, hopefully, continue to grow the program in the years to come.  The recently-completed 2012 Yakima Citizen Survey showed that a lot of people who filled out the questionnaire feel that the overall appearance of the community needs to be improved.  The survey also indicated that people in Yakima are more than willing to volunteer and to help neighbors.

The City intends to leverage the high level of interest in volunteerism demonstrated by the survey results to address the concerns raised in the survey about the community’s appearance.

The number and frequency of volunteer community clean up opportunities that the City will provide next year are still being determined and will be part of a comprehensive Strategic Plan that is being developed based on priorities established by the City Council at its retreat in late August.  The Strategic Plan will be presented to the City Council during an upcoming study session.

Thanks to LDS Volunteers For Helping With Community Clean Up (pdf)