Nearly 450 volunteers cleaned up 20 neighborhood sites, 15 parks and more than 56 miles of roadway as part of a community-wide clean up organized by NeighborWorks Great Falls and United Way of Cascade County.
The two nonprofits partner as part of NeighborWork’s CommUNITY Clean Up and United Way’s Take Pride in Our Parks events.
Businesses, including D.A. Davidson Company, General Mills, Great Falls Public Schools, Northwest Farm Credit Services and Scheels, and community organizations including Alliance for Youth, Kairos Youth Services, the Library Foundation, Neighborhood Councils 3, 5, X and X, Sober Life, Cub Scouts adopted 15 parks.
The volunteers spread wood chips beneath playground equipment, raked out dead leaves, picked up garbage and pinecones, trimmed bushes and more at Elk’s Riverside, Rhodes, Grande Vista, Madison, Belview, Noah’s Ark, Black Eagle, Library, Meadowlark, Pinski, Russell, Jaycee and Valley View parks.
General Mills has adopted a park all 10 years that United Way has recruited teams. Scheels and D.A. Davidson each adopted two parks.
Malmstrom Air Force Base squadrons cleaned up more than 56 miles of roadway throughout Great Falls. Other volunteers laid sod at 10 of NeighborWorks owner built homes.
Volunteers cleaned up four yards whose owners are elderly or disabled. Some volunteers cleaned up the community garden, the Montana Veteran’s Memorial, the field near the east end Walmart and the Great Falls Public Library parking lot.
This is the 10th year that United Way has organized Take Pride in Our Parks to celebrate National Volunteer Month and give local people the opportunity to make our city parks a safe and inviting place for healthy play. United Way’s goals include advancing health and studies show that volunteering just two hours a week improves your health physically and mentally and extends your lifespan.
To find out more volunteer opportunities go to United Way’s free volunteer website www.volunteergreatfalls.org where more than 55 nonprofit organizations post their volunteer opportunities.