Community steps up to solve perceived trash problem
by Mary Wilson, mwilson@jcadvocate.com
The Grandview Litter Gitters, as they’ve aptly named
themselves, formed after a recent post on a social media website expressed
concerns regarding trash at the redeveloped Truman’s Marketplace shopping
center. A handful of community members decided to take action, and formed a
small group of like-minded citizens to tackle the trash problem.
“It all started because of a rant on the Grandview/Martin
City Rant and Rave page on Facebook the Friday before last,” said organizer
Janet Dupuis, a 20-year resident of Grandview. “I commented on the post and
told people that Grandview has a program called the Trash Busters Program, and
they will pay $5 per bag of litter picked up from designated areas. When my
kids were younger, we did this for Girl and Boy Scout activities. I also
organized a group of kids from my neighborhood to pick up litter along Blue
Ridge Road.”
From there, the conversation grew, and before long, a group
of organizers scheduled a meeting place, garnered supplies from Grandview
Public Works and JobOne, and got to work. On Saturday, February 11, nearly 40
people donned orange vests and carried bright yellow trash bags up and down
Grandview’s outer roads in search of treasure…or trash.
“This was very short notice so we really didn't expect a
huge group our first day,” said Dupuis. “We worked from 9 a.m. to noon and
collected 72 bags of trash. We had already agreed that the money Grandview Public
Works paid us would be donated to the Grandview Assistance Program.”
McAlister’s Deli provided a voucher for a free cookie to
each worker and several students from Grandview High School’s cross country
team and the A+ program joined in to earn service hours. According to Dupuis, the
students even remarked that this was the most fun they've had volunteering yet.
On Monday, Dupuis turned the gear back into Public Works and
a check in the amount of $360 will be donated directly to Grandview Assistance
Program, all because a group of Grandview residents decided to come out from
behind their computer screens and solve a problem they determined needed fixed.
“How cool is that? Look for another clean-up event sometime
in May,” said Dupuis.
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