BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Spending a weekend picking up trash along the street or in the park was once thought of as work, a chore, or even a punishment. But nowadays, more people are shifting their mindset about cleaning up the community from a point of a hindrance to one of service.
Kern County is looking for volunteers to help make our home a little nicer and all it only takes is 30 minutes. Keep Kern Beautiful, Kern County’s community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliate, is organizing a virtual cleanup event for January 22. The group is inviting community residents throughout the county, to volunteer for 15 to 30 minutes one Saturday and help pick up trash and clean your neighborhood.
“Just pick up some trash, it’s a very small act but the more people that are involved in doing that, you will see a bigger outcome," said Alicia Gutierrez, Marketing and promotions coordinator for Kern County Public Works.
Residents can venture as far as they like, whether it be just outside your door, your local park, or a quick stroll around the block. As long as you leave it just a little nicer than before.
While public works has seen an increase in the amount of litter and illegal dumping happening around the county, they’ve also noticed more community members trying to do their part to help.
“County employees go out in the community to pick up illegal dumping which as you mentioned there has been a lot more of in past years in Kern County," Gutierrez said. "When it comes to larger items, our crew will be responsible to pick up those items but we're asking the community to pick up in their neighborhoods.”
Several organizations has begun hosting regular community cleanups, from local businesses to regular do-gooders. More and more people are hoping to make a change and take pride in their community.
“Get out, clean up their neighborhood. Make small efforts for that large impact," Gutierrez said. "You know encouraging people to take that time just to get out and help keep the county clean."
If you’d like to take part in this cleanup, all you have to do is sign up by 5 p.m. on January 21. You can do so by emailing Gutierrez at gutierreza@kerncounty.com with your name and clean-up location. Make sure to snap a photo during your cleanup and share it to Facebook by tagging @KernCountyPublicWorks and include the hashtag #KeepKernBeautiful in the post.
