All Hands on Deck for the Quarterly Community Cleanup

In cooperation with the Keep Arkansas Beautiful initiative, do-gooders from around the state will all be taking part in cleanup efforts in their respective communities through the coming months.

Keep Arkansas Beautiful is a statewide commission that “inspires individuals to improve their communities by educating, preventing litter, promoting recycling, and keeping Arkansas beautiful,” according to their website.

“We encourage everyone to accept responsibility for maintaining Arkansas’s scenic beauty, environmental health, and quality of life. These efforts positively impact civic pride, livability, and economic growth – creating communities where people want to work, live and play,” the website states.

To that end, local civic and community groups are coming together to present the Quarterly Community Cleanup Day for Hot Spring County, set for Saturday, June 10, from 8-10 a.m. at Centennial Park.

“This time, we’re trying to get more people involved,” said event organizer, Dara Casey. “We would love more people from other communities to join us and do it quarterly, as well.”

Casey said that she will be focusing her efforts in Malvern, and fellow event organizer, Pam Hall, will be centering her efforts in Rockport, but they encourage people from all over the county to either join other participants at the park that Saturday, or to perform a similar cleanup in their own neck of the woods.

“We’re trying to get people to understand it’s not just physically for Malvern and the downtown area, it’s for everybody,” she said.

Whether you will be cleaning in the city proper or in other parts of the county, free cleanup supplies will be provided and available for pickup at the park’s pavilion that morning. After participants take care of the cleanup, they will convene once again at the park to enjoy free food, plenty of fun, and awesome prizes for the groups and/ or individuals who collect the most trash during the event.

Casey said participants have met along Main Street in the past, but organizers feel that Centennial Park will be a pleasant spot to meet during the heat of early summer, with the trees and pavilion providing shade and space for what they hope is a larger crowd than previous turnouts. Organizers plan to pull off a really great community event that highlights fun and county-wide beautification in equal measure.

“So we’re gonna meet at Centennial Park to hand out the supplies, the t-shirts, and that’s when we’ll gather the trash, and we’ll have people with trucks,” Casey said. “It’s kind of a community effort needing volunteers on that end, as well.”

Several local and area-wide organizations will have a hand in the event. Dave Holland, bishop at The Well, will be manning the grill that afternoon, according to Casey.

“He’s been joining us as a sponsor for the cleanups, and he feeds people after the cleanup. He brings his grill down and cooks burgers,” Casey said.

Rise Above Alcohol & Drugs (RAAD) donated gift cards that will be awarded to some cleanup participants through means like random drawing, or to those who pick up the most trash. RAAD got on board after Marcus Tatum with the RAAD organization reached out to Casey to see how his group could help in the effort.

“Solid Waste [Authority], they’re our sponsors, because that’s where we take our trash,” Casey said. “And they let us dump it for free that day, so they’re a huge part of making that happen.” Finding Hope, Main Street Malvern and Hot Spring County Conversations are other groups who will be facilitating the event.

If you are unable to join in the cleanup and subsequent festivities at Centennial Park, you can still participate by conducting cleanup activities close to your own home or other convenient location within county limits and posting related pics to social media.

Posted images should include the hastags #KeepArkansasbeautiful and #Quarterlycleanup and can be shared via your group or personal social media, or through the Main Street Malvern Facebook page.

Casey and Hall have been the main organizers of the quarterly events for several years now and have done good work for the community, but they really want to see more people coming out to help this June. Casey knows getting involved is beneficial to the community, but it can also be a boon to the individual who decides to put forth that effort for a worthy cause.

“I’m just trying to get more people involved to show that it really does make a huge difference in our community, whether they think so or not, whether it’s your trash or not, it plays a huge role just physically and mentally,” Casey said.

For more information, check out the Main Street Malvern Facebook page. You can also reach out to Casey at 501-802-0213 or Hall at 501-337-3749.