Hundreds of opportunities remain for volunteers to help with Jefferson City’s annual spring cleaning.
Serve Jeff City 2019 is scheduled for April 27.
The eighth annual event — a partnership among the United Way of Central Missouri; Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department; Jefferson City YMCA and other community organizations — has numerous projects organizers hope to complete.
While hundreds of open spots remain, enough volunteers have already signed up for several projects, said City Councilman Ken Hussey, who helps to coordinate the event. Those volunteers will organize supplies for Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association and the Council for Drug Free Youth. They will clean playgrounds for Little Explorers Discovery Center; build Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri Buddy Packs for distribution; and assist with Binder Lake, Hickory Park, McClung Park and Wears Creek clean-up.
“We’re doing pretty good and have received lots of registrants thus far,” Hussey said. “Projects that are full (of volunteers), we have removed as opportunities. But we have need in some of our outdoor projects.”
Way more help is needed at Little Explorers Discovery Center (to clean porches and install a canopy), at Special Learning Center (cleaning after the Capital City Cook Off or doing yard work), at Dreams to Reality (cleaning and organizing), at Knowles YMCA (trail cleaning), at River City Habitat for Humanity (using elbow grease to clean the outsides of homes), at American Red Cross of Central Missouri (to compile resources), at the Cole County Extension Center (to prepare garden beds for spring), and at multiple other sites.
Go to servejeffcity.org to find a list of sites and to sign up to help.
Sponsorship from Republic Services will allow the event to offer free T-shirts to volunteers while supplies last.
The day kicks off for volunteers at 8 a.m., with a pancake breakfast provided by Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, at the McClung Park Pavilion.
Volunteers will travel to their sites at 8:45 a.m.
About 400 participants are expected for Serve Jeff City.
“Mission JC is another opportunity if people aren’t able to help with ours,” Hussey said. “(With it occurring the next day), Mission JC helps with projects if we can’t complete them on Saturday. Between us, we’ll have maybe 1,000 people.”
Mission JC presents worship through service, according to its website. This marks the seventh year of the activities.
The projects within the event vary to accommodate people of almost any age or need.
Volunteers are still needed for Belair Elementary School cleaning, painting and garden work; Belair Prayer, in which notes are written to teachers and volunteers pray over rooms; mulching in Binder Park; assembling and delivering box lunches to Lincoln University students; doing maintenance projects at the Boys & Girls Club students’ home; constructing a small retaining wall at the Boys & Girls Club; and many more.
To sign up for Mission JC, go to missionjc.org. The site contains a list of projects that are to take place April 28 and gives details about where to go, when to arrive and what to bring for the work.