Faith in Action Memphis Cleanup 2015 has succeeded in its ambitious goal to recruit 15,000 volunteers to participate in the citywide cleanup, dedicated to beautifying the Bluff City.
This year's cleanup, organized by Memphis City Beautiful and the Office of the Mayor, kicked off Saturday, April 18 and will continued through Sunday, April 26. For the second year in a row, Faith in Action Memphis Cleanup has earned the designation of being the largest faith-based cleanup in Tennessee history, according to Keep Tennessee Beautiful an affiliate of the national Keep America Beautiful organization.
"We built upon last year's weekend-long cleanup, which engaged more than 12,000 volunteers," said Eldra White, executive director of Memphis City Beautiful. "This year's cleanup expanded to include an entire week of beautification projects, and the response has been tremendous and inspiring. Our citizens and our sponsors have clearly demonstrated their commitment to making Memphis clean, safe and healthy."
So far, there are more than 350 registered teams representing a cross-section of the city's business, neighborhood association, education and faith-based communities. Our signature blue bags have been in every part of the city; placed there by citizens who care and want to do their part to improve the greater community. During the week of activity, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton, Jr. surprised several of these volunteer teams at various project sites to express his gratitude for their hard work and dedication.
"I'm grateful we have so many caring people who take pride in this community," Wharton said. "They deserve to be commended for their contributions to beautifying our neighborhoods. They're out there doing the heavy lifting, giving of their time and talent to improve our surroundings, and I want to personally thank them."
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