|
The Friends of the Ravines (FOR) collaborated with the United Way of Central
Ohio and the City of
Columbus for a Community Care Day cleanup of Glen Echo
Park. The United Way matched FOR with
the Affinion Group, an information
technology company with offices in Dublin.
Affionion volunteers exerted
enormous effort to clean and restore Glen Echo Park, a city park set in a
beautiful ravine. Ably led by Doug, their volunteer coordinator, Affinion's
Mindy, Diane, Mike, Jeff and
Ron, cut and hauled away dead trees and branches
across the stream that were catching trash. They
walked the stream and cleaned
it of debris. All of the graffiti was painted under the Indianola Avenue
bridge.
Our volunteers also painted over graffiti on stream retaining walls, and the
long sets of stairs
from the top of the ravine into the park. Graffiti was
removed from the park's interpretive signs. Trash
was picked up from the park's
ten acres, native trees and shrubs were planted, and other tasks
accomplished.
The Affinion Group volunteers worked with great humor as an excellent team, and
it is
amazing how much work they accomplished in one day.
In addition,
individuals and businesses in the Glen Echo area helped with the effort. The
Giant Eagle
Store at 2801 N. High Street was extremely generous, donating water,
fruit and ice. We also received
donations from local Target (Graceland) and
Kroger (3417 North High Street) stores. Local volunteers
pitched in to organize
and participate in the day. A ravine resident provided a wonderful grilled
lunch.
The Columbus Recreation & Parks Department provided paint to cover
the graffiti. Keep Columbus
Beautiful provided all of the tools that were
needed.
Each year, the United Way of Central Ohio organizes volunteers
from businesses, government agencies
and labor unions for one concerted day of
effort and activities to improve neighborhoods and schools
throughout central
Ohio, and promote community connections. Community Care Day projects were held
all over Central Ohio on September 15th. Friends of the Ravines is pleased to
have participated, and
applauds our volunteers from the Affinion Group, those
from our neighborhood, and our local businesses
for their commitment to our
community, and assistance in meeting FOR's mission, to protect, preserve
and
restore ravine areas for the benefit of the urban community as well as the
wildlife that utilize them.
We are quite fortunate to have these fragile
ecosystems and all of us are privileged to be their
stewards.
|
