Corporate support valuable to community

CORPORATE support and encouragement from businesses within the community has played an important part in the development of the Tidy Towns concept and culture in Haggardstown.

Still a mere fledging organisation, the local group has made great strides with the improvements and appearance of the area, with a great community spirit engendered, to make the area as clean and tidy as possible.

This has been manifest in the regular clean-ups that are conducted by volunteers who commit as part of the group or when suits them patrol their neck of the community and remove rubbish and litter, and retain an enthusiasm to repeat their efforts, despite the sometimes demoralising total disregard for the environment and utterly selfish behaviour of louts who discard whenever and wherever all sort of unwanted materials and items.

It can be quite discouraging, but the local volunteers haven’t allowed it to be so.

The group as a whole has instead maintained a zeal to continue with improving the community for all who live there, and made it pleasing on the eye to those who visit and more attractive.

Fine examples are the new landmark signage and landscape features that have been created and installed at strategic locations, along with planters at St Fursey’s Church.

These initiatives wouldn’t have been possible to implement without the sponsorship and financial backing of local businesses.

It is a great boost to the Tidy Towns Group to maintain and re-double their efforts. It is more encouraging that the likes of WuXi have actually engaged in the work that the volunteers do, and employees devote a day annually to the task of cleaning litter in the area.

The company’s clean-up day this year is on Saturday next, and will be followed by refreshments in the Fairways Hotel for all who take part. The clean-up will commence at 10 a.m.