Area Business & Residents Take on City Cleanup & Beautification for Pawtucket Proud Day 2016
Beautification efforts revitalize Pawtucket downtown, riverfront, gateways
(PAWTUCKET RI) — Over 140 volunteers contributed 530-plus volunteer hours during the 13th Annual Pawtucket Proud Day on Thursday, June 9, 2016. The event annually brings together the City’s business, nonprofit and resident communities to showcase public spaces, neighborhood parks and “gateways” of Pawtucket. In its 13 years, Pawtucket Proud Day has attracted more than 1,200 volunteers representing 120 companies in over 70 projects throughout the community. This year’s volunteer efforts during Pawtucket Proud Day are valued as a $12,227??contribution to the community.
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Pawtucket Proud Day volunteers from Pawtucket Credit Union and Colonial Mills help with cleanup and mulching along Exchange Street.??????
BUSINESSES CONTRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP
Christine Sullivan, Development Director of the Pawtucket Foundation,??welcomed volunteers at the the event’s headquarters at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Thursday morning. Pawtucket Mayor Donald??Grebien also welcomed participants and thanked them for their ongoing help in continuing to care for and improve Pawtucket. The Departments of Planning and Public Works helped the Pawtucket Foundation in identifying and preparing project sites. The departments also played an integral role in supplying materials, equipment, labor and oversight.????
“The Pawtucket Foundation is very thankful for and proud of the wonderful work done by its many Pawtucket Proud Day volunteers today,” remarks Jan Brodie, Executive Director, Pawtucket Foundation, “We truly appreciate their commitment to our city.”??
PROJECT IMPACTS
Participants fanned out to project work sites with gloves and tools in hand. Volunteer teams were assigned to 11 main projects for Pawtucket Proud Day 2016. Participants assisted in riverfront clearing and cleanup along the??Blackstone River??at two sites:??Horseshoe Falls??and East Street.??The??Taft Street??parking lot was weeded, mulched and planted.??At??Slater Mill, volunteers trimmed bushes, weeded, and collected garbage. Volunteers at the??Leon Mathieu Senior Center??mulched, weeded, planted and beautified the outdoor garden area. Tree wells in downtown, along Broadway, Exchange Street and on Armistice Boulevard were weeded, mulched and swept clean of debris. In the Armory Arts District, participants collected??garbage and removed weeds around the Broadway lot, and weeded, planted and mulched triangle park and traffic islands.??Festival Pier??benefited from the efforts of volunteers who picked up trash and swept up debris. Participants also planted, picked up trash, weeded, and mulched areas of Wilkinson Park.??
GOLDEN BUCKET AWARDED
After projects wrapped up for the day, volunteers enjoyed lunch, sponsored by the Pawtucket Rotary Club, prepared by the Exchange Street Cafe. The prestigious rotating Golden Bucket Award was bestowed upon Mark House, of Environmental Strategies & Management, Inc., for??his outstanding contributions on and beyond Pawtucket Proud Day. The winner of this special recognition gets to keep the Golden Bucket to proudly display until it is returned and awarded to a new outstanding volunteer or work team the next Pawtucket Proud Day.??
??The annual Pawtucket Proud Day event was originally conceived by Collette CEO and Pawtucket Foundation Co-Chair, Daniel J. Sullivan, as a way of demonstrating the commitment of the local business community to the revitalization of Pawtucket.
Photos of the event can be found the Pawtucket Foundation Facebook Page [at http://www.facebook.com/pawtucketfoundation/] or on their Instagram account, @PawtFnd.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sponsors:
The Pawtucket Foundation is grateful for the generous financial and in-kind support of Pawtucket Proud Day: TD Bank, Bristol County Savings Bank, Butler & Messier, Inc. Central Nurseries, Citizens Ice Company,??ClassSick Custom Screenprinting & Embroidery, Collette, Colonial Mills, Dunkin Donuts East Avenue, Joan Hausrath, Kenneth Gold, Leshinsky Finance, Narragansett Bay Commission, National Grid, Navigant Credit Union, Pamela Hughes, and the Rotary Club of Pawtucket.??
ABOUT THE PAWTUCKET FOUNDATION:??
The Pawtucket Foundation represents the business and not-for-profit sector as an advocate and catalyst for downtown, riverfront and transportation gateway enhancements within the City of Pawtucket. pawtucketfoundation.com