Saturday, more than 200 volunteers participated in the second annual Keep Poplarville Beautiful event, which is held in conjunction with the Keep America Beautiful campaign. During the four hour event, volunteers filled a trailer and the back of a pickup truck at City Park with more than 350 bags of trash.
Keep America Beautiful is a nationwide nonprofit group who works with volunteers to convert public spaces into beautiful places, the website states.
Event coordinator Laurie Jaufre said this year’s event surpassed all expectations.
“This year more of our local businesses participated and donated door prizes, which helped create excitement for the event,” she said. “I also think that city wide, people are becoming more involved with conservation.”
With the help of flyers, banners and social media, word quickly spread about the event.
Pearl River Community College’s Athletic Department was instrumental in promoting the effort to college students, Jaufre said.
Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, church groups, 4-H groups and students from Poplarville High School all pitched in to clean up their city.
The following businesses donated door prizes, which were awarded to lucky volunteers: Eclectic Café, O’Reilly Auto Parts, L’il River Outdoors, Parish Tractor, Fred’s, Holliday Real Estate, The Yogurt Bucket, Deb’s Pizza, Scooter’s, Longleaf Farm and Garden, Apple’s Ltd., Pearson’s Barber Shop, Love’s Travel Stop, PRCC Athletic Department, Daydreamers Chrome Shack, Byron Wells Insurance and A Touch of Vintage, Jaufre said. The Poplarville Women’s Club donated water. This year, a city employee drove around and passed out cold water to volunteers, Jaufre said.
Local yoga instructor Daniel Wise hosted a free yoga class at City Park for volunteers, she added.
Jaufre said she received messages from many people who were unable to attend Saturday’s event, but still wanted to help.
“People were helping out by cutting their grass and planting flowers,” she said. “They were doing their part at home. It’s like having a party and you wonder if anyone will show up. It was exciting to see the community pull together and work for a common goal of giving back to the city we call home.”
Learn more about Poplarville’s cleanup efforts through Facebook at Keep Poplarville Beautiful.