LaredoBuzz.Com

City-wide improvement initiative

 Laredo, TX—Sept. 1‘09— Keep Laredo Beautiful, in partnership with Coca-Cola, HEB, Borderplex Area Wide Phonebook, KGNS-TV, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) and of course, the City of Laredo, is hosting Unity in CommUnity, a city-wide community improvement initiative that will hit every City Council district in Laredo.  The improvement outreach will be on Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26, 2009, and hundreds of volunteers are needed to sign up to help beautify, clean up, paint, landscape and improve almost 30 neighborhoods throughout the city of Laredo.

 “This is more than just a clean-up project,” said Lynne Nava, Executive Director of Keep Laredo  Beautiful.  “This is a true city-wide improvement initiative, which will make our city an even more beautiful and wonderful place to live.”

 The Unity in CommUnity project began when Dennis McCrea of LDS, contacted Nava about hosting a day-long beautification effort for the church’s Young Adults Conference Day of Service.  Over the years, the LDS church members have participated in many of Keep Laredo Beautiful’s clean-up projects, including work at North Central Park and other such improvement projects. 

 “The church members do our service projects because we want to be a part of this community,” said McCrea.  “It’s our pleasure to help improve Laredo.” Nava was also contacted by local Coca-Cola representatives, Tino Villarreal and Anissa Gonzales, about

wanting to host a day of service in September for Laredo Coca-Cola employees, such as a clean-up effort,to coincide  with the corporate office’s mission of all local operations doing something to serve theircommunity in September. “Coca-Cola is such a huge part of the community, in every city in the country,” said Tino Villarreal, Sales

Center Manager of Laredo Coca-Cola.  “Coca-Cola has always been a leader, whether it is in product,marketing, and now, in giving back to our community, that we are so proud to be able to make this clean-up project a reality.”  The initiative here in Laredo even promises to bring in come companyrepresentatives from the corporate office in Dallas, to see the impact of the outreach.

 Other corporate sponsors, including HEB, Borderplex and KGNS are offering support, resources and promotion of the initiative, so help raise awareness – and increase volunteers – for the outreach.

 Over the span of two-days, volunteers will tackle almost 30 sites throughout Laredo, doing various clean-up efforts such as picking up trash, but also, painting over graffiti or painting homes, and landscaping, to name a few.   Each district has three locations that have been identified by City of Laredo Code

 Enforcement officers.  Some locations include homes of elderly or disabled individuals who cannot  upkeep their home; others include lots, walls or areas that local residents have trashed themselves.

 Unity in CommUnity is such an ambitious project, organizers have split the work into two days.  On Friday, September 25, districts III, IV, VII and VIII will be tackled by the LDS church group, which has been designated as their day of service.  However, anyone wishing to sign up to volunteer on Friday may do so, as well.  Additionally, City Council Member Cindy Liendo Espinoza, Dist. VIII and her father, Judge Hector Liendo and uncle, Judge Oscar Liendo, will also host specific clean-up projects in District VIII on Friday.

 The rest of the districts will be tackled on Saturday, September 26.  Registration and breakfast starts at 7:00 a.m., at their designated district headquarters, and then they will head out to their assigned clean-up site.  Most projects should take approximately 4-5 hours of work to complete.  At the end of the clean-up work, lunch will be provided for all volunteers.

 “There is a lot of work to be done, but it can be completed, if we have the community volunteer and show up,” continued Nava.  “This is a perfect community project for other church groups, youth groups, school clubs or any other civic-minded organizations, businesses, families or individuals in the community who want to help keep Laredo Beautiful.”

 Of course, like all projects, there are certain rules and requirements for those who volunteer; especially for those who volunteer to serve as site leaders.  Everyone who signs up will receive training, such as proper clothing (long sleeves and pants, thick-soled closed shoes), what to pick-up (trash and weeds) and what to avoid (chemicals, needles and other such hazards) and other such guidelines.  Children under 14 will not be permitted, and all children under 18 will require chaperone or adult supervisor.

 “I want to assure the community that these improvement projects are done in the safest manner possible,” Nava added.  “Aside from the extensive training that will be given to site leaders about hazards and safety rules, participants must sign a liability release.  There will be plenty of water on site, as well as restroom facilities and first-aid kits, while EMS and City of Laredo Employee Nurses will be standing by for any situation that may arise, such as over-exhaustion, insect bites and the like.”  However, Nava assures potential volunteers that in all the years she has been hosting these events, she’s never had any incident occur.

 All volunteers must sign up by Friday, September 11, so that each person can receive training, fill-out appropriate paperwork, and get assigned to a designated location.  Volunteers can, of course, request to work in a specific district.