A Thousand Volunteers Expected for Annual Campus-Community Clean-up
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 12, 2005
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Chad Butler, Scour & Devour
530-370-1807
Stacey Schooler, Scour & Devour
530-228-9146
A Thousand Volunteers Expected for Annual Campus-Community Clean-up
On Saturday, Oct. 1, more than 1,000 California State University, Chico students, faculty, staff and Chico community members will gather for the 8th annual Scour and Devour.
Co-sponsored by A.S. Recycling and The Edge Campus Christian Fellowship, Scour and Devour is an opportunity for the community of downtown Chico to come together to clean up and beautify their home.
“Scour and Devour provides the opportunity for students to practice citizenship in action while improving our overall community,” said Chico Mayor Scott Gruendl of the annual effort.
New clean-up and beautification jobs have been added to accommodate the large number of volunteers. Tasks will include picking up trash on campus and the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as painting over graffiti in the area. Volunteers will also be taken to areas of Bidwell Park in need of some maintenance.
“[Scour and Devour] allows participants to show their care for the city of Chico as the event has grown from just cleaning up student neighborhoods to cleaning up a variety of parts of the city,” A.S. President Thomas Whitcher said.
Registration for clean-up volunteers will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the cleaning set to begin at 9 a.m. At noon the volunteers will gather on the Free Speech Area for a complimentary tri tip lunch.
In 1998, Bob Sprague, lead pastor of The Edge, wanted to find a service project that members of the community could do together. What started as an effort by around 50 people in 1998 saw a total of more than 800 volunteers last year. This year that number is expected to exceed 1,000.
Sponsors of this year’s event include NorCal Waste Management, Chico State Resident Hall Association, and University Housing and Food Service.
More information on Scour and Devour can be found online. Those wishing to pre-register for the event can do so at the Web site.
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