Staff Report

LOVES PARK, Ill.–Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful Executive Director Lori Gummow, Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott H. Christiansen and City of Rockford Mayor Lawrence J. Morrissey announced that two new communities, Roscoe and South Beloit, have joined the Fourth Annual Great American Clean-up in Winnebago County, scheduled for Saturday, April 30, from 8 a.m. to noon.

This is a collaborative effort among Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful, Winnebago County and the City of Rockford. As a nationally-organized anti-littering campaign, the Great American Clean-up has grown to become a catalyst of real change for community improvement and beautification, becoming the nation’s single-largest community improvement program.

“One of our goals is to help instill civic involvement and community pride by keeping our communities clean and as litter free as possible A successful strategy for preventing crime and low-level anti-social behavior is to fix small problems before they become larger. Cleaning up a sidewalk every day creates the tendency for litter to not accumulate; we appreciate all of the citizens who make keeping our city clean a priority; and I personally thank the outstanding volunteers who will donate their time on Saturday, April 30, to pick up litter,” said Chairman Christiansen.

Mayor Larry Morrissey said: “We are extremely fortunate to live in a community where so many citizens care about and are active in the beautification and protection of our environment. I applaud the work of our citizens-volunteers and the work of Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful.”

The Clean-up is a countywide effort that involves citizens from all villages, municipalities, townships and service organizations in Winnebago County.

Patriots’ Gateway Center, 615 S. Fifth St., Rockford, will serve as the central location for volunteers to pick up supplies such as gloves, safety vests, trash bags and litter bags.

Supplies will also be available at many other regional locations including: Harlem Township Town Hall, 819 Melbourne Ave., Machesney Park; Loves Park City Hall, 100 Heart Blvd., Loves Park; Rockton Village Green Park, 149 E. Chapel St., Rockton; Roscoe Public Works Building, 402 Swanson Road, Roscoe; South Beloit City Park, 400 Winnebago St., South Beloit; Cherry Valley Township, 4875 Blackhawk Road, Cherry Valley; New Milford Village Hall, 6771 11th St., Rockford; Durand Fire Department, 115 Howard St., Durand; Pecatonica Township, 410 Reed St., Pecatonica; and the Winnebago County Highway Department, 424 N. Springfield Ave., Rockford.

Additional supply locations include all Riverside Community Banks in Winnebago County; Perryville Banking Center, 6855 E. Riverside Blvd.; Harrison Banking Center, 1515 W. Lane Road. The Ellis Heights Neighborhood Center, 1810 W. State St., Rockford, will also be a location to pick up supplies.

Preregistration is required. Volunteers need to register by Friday, April 22. Saturday, April 30, volunteers pick up supplies between 8 and 9 a.m. at one of the locations listed above. Volunteers pick up litter at the location of their choice, or a location will be assigned. After the clean-up, a complimentary lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. at Patriots’ Gateway Center for all volunteers.

“Last year, we coordinated over 1,300 volunteers, who gave thousands of hours to clean up their neighborhoods and miles of county roads and city streets. More than 39 tons of litter was collected,” said Lori Gummow, executive director of Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful.

Organizations, groups or individuals wanting to participate in the 2011 Great American Clean-up should call Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful at (815) 637-1343 or go to www.knib.org ^[1] to register by Friday, April 22.

From the March 23-39 issue