I want to clean up my community in a big way, but how?! Why not organize a community or local cleanup. It's a great way to get people involved, get people outdoors, and do something really great to help our planet. If you're considering doing a local cleanup, but don't know where to start your planning, we've got you covered! It's a lot of work but it can make such a big difference to your community. Make sure if you're under the age of 18 you get a parent, teacher, or community leader involved to help.
Where to start -Find a place that really needs a cleanup crew. It could be a local park, a beach, or a neighborhood. -Talk to your local government about any legalities to a cleanup. Some places require you to have a signup sheet for legal reasons. If it’s public property you probably do not need permission to be there but it doesn’t hurt to ask. -Ask friends and family if they would like to help you plan this event. You could ask for people to help design flyers, spread the word on social media or in the community, help you bring supplies you’ll need, or help taking the trash to a dumpster. -Find local organizations, schools, or religious establishments that may want to participate in your cleanup. Having a large, already organized group participating can really help with publicizing the event and participation as well. What you’ll need -A signup sheet at the event for your volunteers - ask for their name, phone number, email address - this can be used to send out a thank you e-mail after or provide them with future cleanup event information -Large trash bags - see if a local store or organization would be willing to donate these -Gloves - ask that volunteers bring their own gloves or see if an organization is willing to donate reusable gloves -Reflective vests, optional -A social media account - to share your event and the result of it -Flyers - to pass out at schools, libraries, religious establishments, etc -Non-littering snacks - something not in a wrapper for volunteers after the event (think apples, bananas, oranges, etc), optional How to publicize -Social media -Flyers - just make sure they don’t become part of the litter you’re out to clean up) -Local newspaper - ask them if they can include an ad or article about your event -Newsletters - ask schools and religious establishments if they want to get involved and share it in their newsletters -Local government - ask them to share your efforts on their website or social media What information you’ll need to share -Who - Who can participate and how many people do you need -What - What do volunteers need to bring and what are any restrictions due to local area laws and rules -Where - Where should your volunteers meet up for the cleanup -When - What day and time (you may also want to consider a rain date if weather varies in your area) -Why - Why it’s important to clean up this particular area
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