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Immediate Release |
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May 8, 2003 |
David Vossbrink, (408) 277-3515 |
"Great American Pick Up" in San José Neighborhoods on SaturdayMayor Gonzales expects hundreds of neighborhood volunteers to join second annual anti-litter eventSan José, CA --- San José Mayor Ron Gonzales joined young students at Stonegate Elementary School today to help them prepare for the city’s second annual community-wide litter pick up this Saturday, May 10. Hundreds neighborhood volunteers will meet on Saturday at ten locations throughout the city to help pick up trash. Last year more than 750 volunteers picked up 960 bags of litter during the first Great American Pick Up in San José. For information on how to volunteer, call the San José Customer Service Call Center at (408) 277-4000, or check the city’s website at www.ci.san-jose.ca.us “Keeping our community clean is a responsibility that must be learned, starting with our youngest residents,” said Gonzales today as he worked with a class of Stonegate kindergarten students to teach them how to use litter sticks. “It’s never too early to start training our next generation on the importance of keeping our city and our environment clean.” The San José Anti-Litter Program has partnered with the Franklin-McKinley,
Alum Rock and San José Unified school districts to help teachers
reach schoolchildren about community pride and responsibility. Gonzales launched the city’s anti-litter efforts last year to build on the success of the anti-graffiti program that has wiped out graffiti by 95 % over the past four years through aggressive cleanup, law enforcement, interagency cooperation, and 2700 neighborhood volunteers. Graffiti tags found in San Jose have fallen from 71,000 in found in 1999 to fewer than 4000 this year. San José has anti-litter partnerships with Caltrans, VTA, Santa Clara County, Santa Clara Valley Water District, GreenTeam, Norcal, San José Conservation Corps, Comcast, Outback Steakhouse, Albertsons, California Department of Conservation, City of Campbell, along with many San Jose neighborhood associations, schools, community organizations, and businesses. San José’s Great American Pick-up Day will begin with volunteers meeting at one of the ten sites listed below starting at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own pick up stick and work gloves. All youth under the age of 18 need supervision and transportation to get to clean-up sites. Following a morning of neighborhood litter pick-up activities, volunteers are invited to a free celebration lunch starting at 11:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of Faith Church, 2315 Canoas Garden Avenue. The lunch is sponsored by Outback Steakhouse Restaurant.
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