April 27, 2011
Beautify Southern Illinois Days volunteers needed
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Events will take place throughout the region during Beautify Southern Illinois Days, and plans call for a lot of Southern Illinois University Carbondale student involvement.
The Beautify Southern Illinois Student Alliance (BSISA), a registered student organization at SIUC, is seeking students to beautify the region and to serve as car pool drivers to help students get to various events on Saturday, April 30. BSISA will coordinate student car pools and even provide gas money to those traveling outside Carbondale.
To sign up as a car pool driver, send an email to restivo@cehs.siu.edu no later than noon, Thursday, April 28. The email should include your name, the community event you plan to drive to and if you will have open seats or if your car is already full of other volunteers for the cleanup event. Car pools will leave the SIUC Student Center at staggered times between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., depending on which town the vehicles are traveling to.
Any and all Salukis are welcome to volunteer at any of the cleanup or beautification sites. Although there are events in Carbondale and throughout the region on Saturday, there’s also a finale event geared toward area children and families on the SIUC campus on Sunday.
University student volunteers helping with the Saturday efforts should meet in the area of the Student Center circle drive to sign in and get an event T-Shirt. Those who would rather not leave town can help in Carbondale. Students can earn Saluki Volunteer Corps hours for their participation in the Beautify Southern Illinois Days.
SIUC faculty and staff as well as community members are welcome to join the students in sprucing up the appearance of the region. Just show up ready to at any of the sites and share a little time and energy.
Media Advisory
Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover the Beautify Southern Illinois Days events. Check the schedule below and visit any of the sites during the scheduled events. For more information, contact Paul Restivo, director of the Center for Environmental Health and Safety at SIUC and chair of the Beautify Southern Illinois Regional Campaign, at restivo@cehs.siu.edu or 618/453-7180.
Here’s a look at the details and site locations for each of the Beautify Southern Illinois events:
• Alto Pass: Litter pickup and flower planting, volunteers meeting at the downtown pavilion at 9 a.m. Contacts are Don Rehmer, village president, at drehmer@siu.edu or SIUC student Abigail Stemmler at kitanya@siu.edu.
• Carbondale: Community-wide cleanup, meeting at 9 a.m. at the downtown pavilion at the intersection of U.S. Highway 51 and Illinois Highway 13 near Tres Hombres. Wear closed-toe shoes and be ready rain or shine (unless there’s lightning). Organizers will provide gloves, bags and cleanup materials and the cleanup continues until noon. Contact is Rachael McIndoo, event coordinator, at rmcindoo@siu.edu.
• Carterville: Citywide beautification efforts with volunteers meeting behind Carterville City Hall, 103 S. Division St., at 8:30 a.m. SIUC car pools will leave the Student Center at 8 a.m. Volunteers will gather in the parking lot behind city hall at noon for lunch. The contact person is Khristina Hollister, khollister74@yahoo.com.
• Jefferson County: Countywide cleanup planned. For details contact Jamie Dodson at Jefferson County Comprehensive Services, Inc. 618/242-7300, email jamied@jccsinc.info.
• Makanda: Litter cleanup in the village of Makanda. Participants will meet in the parking lot across from the downtown pavilion at 8 a.m. and the work continues until 4 p.m. SIUC student car pools will leave SIUC at 7:45 a.m. and head back to campus shortly after noon.
• Marion: A variety of events are set for April 29 and 30 but there is no need for SIUC student volunteer assistance. The Friday, April 29, events include public recycling drop-off 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. and school beautification activities by the Marion Junior High Recycle Cats. On Saturday, there will be electronic recycling downtown from 9 a.m. to noon, litter pickup along West Main Street, in the Hunters Run Subdivision, along South Market Road, on the Williamson County Parkway/Ashley Park, in the old Wolohan’s lot and at the Marion Soccer Fields.
Other events include a white oak seedling giveaway, a “Recycling Works” seminar 9-11 a.m. at the Williamson County Administration Building board room on Thursday, April 28, and the Withers Broadcasting “Swap Til You Drop” women’s clothing swap at Bennie’s in Marion on Saturday. For details about any of the Marion happenings, contact Tracey Glenn at 618/997-1301, ext. 133 or 618/694-6432 or by email at wilcomtg@hotmail.com.
• Steeleville: Seeds of Steeleville, a new group, will work with the Steeleville Jaycees and the City Beautification Committee to clean up the city parks, plant flowers in the park and at the village hall and clean up/repair the Jaycee Park on Shawneetown Trail. Volunteers will meet at the Jaycee Park on Shawneetown Trail at 9:30 a.m. and they’ll enjoy free barbecue at the park at noon. The SIUC student car pools will leave the Student Center at 8:20 a.m. and organizers say there’s a great need for volunteers for this project. For details, contact Stephanie Knop at stephk@siu.edu or 618/967-1911, Karen Hepp at 618/791-6767 or Angie Knop at 618/791-4558.
• West Frankfort: citywide cleanup planned. Contact Bruce Fasol at Withers Broadcasting, 618/997-8123, for additional information.
• Zeigler: citywide cleanup effort. Contact Kim Rowan at krowan@siu.edu for details.
Wrapping up the weekend of Beautify Southern Illinois Days events is the Earth Extravaganza on Sunday, May 1, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the campus lake at SIUC. This event is free and open to the public but the target is particularly local children, primarily kindergarten through sixth grade ages, and their families. The SIUC Student Recreation Center and the Beautify Southern Illinois Student Alliance are sponsoring the fun afternoon of hands-on, ecology-themed activities to enhance environmental awareness and exposure for area youngsters.
SIUC students volunteering to help with the Earth Extravaganza should arrive at the boat dock area before noon Sunday. For more information, contact Ellen Esling at ellenesling@siu.edu.
For general information about the Beautify Southern Illinois Days, contact Paul Restivo, director of the Center for Environmental Health and Safety at SIUC and chair of the Beautify Southern Illinois Regional Campaign, at restivo@cehs.siu.edu or 618/453-7180 or Kim Rowan, SIUC student coordinator for the Beautify Southern Illinois Days, at krowan@siu.edu.