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Volunteers Sought To Make Wheeling Shine

File Photo Volunteers remove trash from Wheeling Creek as part of a previous Make Wheeling Shine event. Event organizers are looking for volunteers for this year’s event, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday.

WHEELING — Spring cleanups continue in the city of Wheeling, and the Department of Parks and Recreation is seeking volunteers for its third annual Make Wheeling Shine event this weekend.

Rochelle Barry, director of Wheeling’s Department of Parks and Recreation, said the annual community cleanup event will kick off at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The cleanup will focus on city playgrounds and open spaces throughout town.

Anyone interested in participating in Make Wheeling Shine on Saturday morning can sign up at bit.ly/makewheelingshine or by calling the Parks and Recreation office at 304-234-3641.

“We’re trying to get everyone signed up by Friday, but we’ll continue to take volunteers up until we start,” Barry said.

The local Make Wheeling Shine event is part of the broader Make It Shine program conducted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Through the state program, groups throughout West Virginia can apply to receive grant funding for supplies to help with cleanup activities in their communities.

Grant funds will provide gloves and bags for the Make Wheeling Shine event, Barry said.

“In previous years, we held a creek cleanup, but this year, we’re trying to spread volunteers out, so we decided to focus on other areas,” she explained. “Volunteers can select where they would like to clean on the signup sheet, but if they don’t have a preference, we will assign them a spot.”

A number of groups have stepped up to participate in the local event, including crews from Volunteer Wheeling to student council members from Wheeling Park High School, Barry said. Many groups will be conducting cleanups in targeted areas, from the Pleasanton Playground to Pulaski Field in South Wheeling, the Janie S. Altmeyer Heritage Port Playground to other public areas of the city.

“For a lot of volunteers, we’re trying to get them to focus on a park or playground that they may use the most,” Barry said. “It’s a good way to help out in your community. Bring the kids out — it’s good for them to see that if someone litters, someone else has to pick it up.”

Barry noted that last year’s Make Wheeling Shine event had to be canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the 2021 cleanup is moving forward full-steam this weekend. Volunteers will be encouraged to stay socially distanced during the cleanup.

“I’m glad we’re able to safely hold this event this year,” Barry said. “We’re extremely grateful for all the volunteers who continue to help us better our public spaces for everyone in the community to enjoy.”

The cleanup is scheduled to take place from 9-11 a.m. Saturday. In the event of inclement weather, a rain date for the event will be May 15.

For more information about the statewide Make It Shine program, visit the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection website at www.dep.wv.gov.

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