Be Downtown Cleanup Deemed A Big Success

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 30, 2008 For more information, contact: Lisa Abbott, Director, Housing and Neighborhood Development Department, City of Bloomington, 349-3576 Maria K. Heslin, Deputy Mayor, City of Bloomington, 349-3569 Bloomington, IN - The City of Bloomington and Downtown Bloomington Inc. (DBI) were joined by dozens of volunteers to cleanup downtown yesterday, April 29, 2008, in celebration of Be Downtown Bloomington, part of the City's ongoing Be Bloomington community character campaign. The third annual downtown cleanup involved 69 community volunteers and 70 students from Aurora Alternative High School, an increase of about 40 from the 2007 event. This year the volunteers disposed of more than 1,000 pounds of trash and 140 pounds of recyclables. "We are thrilled with the response we had from the individuals and businesses who devoted several hours to making our downtown even better," Mayor Mark Kruzan said. "I really appreciate the event's generous sponsors and the efforts of these volunteers and the City staff, who organized the event. I also want to recognize John Hartman, the City's Downtown Specialist, whose work helps keep downtown beautiful on a daily basis." Volunteers from local businesses, organizations and the public helped in the cleanup effort, while City staffers from the Housing and Neighborhood Development, Office of the Mayor, Public Works, Community and Family Resources, Utilities and the Parks and Recreation departments organized and participated in the cleanup. Volunteers met in City Hall by 8:30 a.m. where they registered, enjoyed refreshments provided by Tutto Bene, received a Be Downtown T- shirt, and joined one of nine cleanup teams. "It was so great to see so many people willing to invest their time in making downtown a better place," said Talisha Coppock, Executive Director of DBI. "We certainly encourage all people to do their part to pick it up or adopt an area next to their business or residence to help keep it clean." The perimeter for the cleanup extended from 3rd Street to 12th Street and Indiana Avenue to Rogers Street. The area was divided into zones where eight clean teams and one mulching crew were assigned. Volunteers spent several hours discarding litter, removing graffiti, and mulching. Cigarette butts were the leading source of litter on the streets, sidewalks and alleyways. CFC, Inc. had a number of employees volunteer on Tuesday. Jim Murphy, President of CFC Incorporated said he believes the event brings people together. "There has been excellent participation each year and more people are becoming aware of the cleanup and putting it on their calendar," Murphy said. "It is good to see the number of people from different organizations getting involved and the best part is the neighborhood gets cleaned up." Staffers also swept and power washed several alleys, and volunteers and staff picked up litter, swept curbs and sidewalks and mulched and divided plants around City Hall. Special thanks to the volunteers, City staff and DBI, as well as the Downtown Cleanup sponsors CFC Incorporated, Campustown, Tutto Bene and Noodles & Company, which provided complimentary lunches to all of the participants. # # #