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kmbIt is that time of the year once again. Spring has sprung and Keep McAllen Beautiful is spring cleaning the city of McAllen. Keep McAllen Beautiful (KMB) is organizing its annual Great American Clean-Up and Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off, but with a different twist this year. Due to the pandemic, there will not be a mass gathering in the park; instead, KMB is asking interested individuals to gather their favorite 5-10 people and create a small group to do a litter clean-up around town.

“Keep McAllen Beautiful would like everyone to feel COVID-19 safe and have a great time while helping to keep McAllen clean and beautiful,” said Chris Lash, KMB Program Coordinator.
Interested groups can assign a lead contact person to call KMB and register their group. Clean-ups will take place beginning Monday, April 5 and can continue through Saturday, May 1, 2021. Groups can pick their own date and time and will be provided with trash bags, disposable gloves, and safety orange vests from the KMB
office. They can also decide what area of town they would like to pick-up litter or KMB can assign them a location to clean. To sign up, visit www.keepmcallenbeautiful.org or call (956) 681-4562 for more details.

Additionally, there will be two photo contests held, one for the best “Before, During and After” photo, showing the impact of the clean-up effort and the other for a photo of the “Oddest Item” collected.

“Put your cleaning shoes on and join us as we traverse our city’s major streets, hike and bike trails, city parks and schools to help keep our city looking clean and beautiful,” said McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. “For the first time in over 25 years, the clean-up event was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, so it is more important than ever to participate in this year’s clean-up,” he added.

Everyone is encouraged to participate. This is a great opportunity for anyone needing community service hours or who wants to do something meaningful. In addition, volunteers get a free t-shirt, and possibly, even win a prize, all while helping the City of McAllen become even more beautiful by picking up litter.

“Volunteers come from all walks of life such as students, business leaders, civic and non-profit organizations, individuals, families, community and religious groups, sororities, fraternities, sports teams, and the military,” added Lash. “We are asking the public to volunteer and join in this beatification effort. In addition, we are requesting that McAllen drivers be extra cautious and be on the look-out for volunteers who will be busy cleaning our streets during the month of April,” she concluded.

The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off is the single largest one-day clean-up event in the state and serves as Texas’s signature event for the Great American Clean-up, the nation's largest community improvement program implemented by Keep America Beautiful. The Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-Off is part of Texas Department of Transportation’s litter prevention program, which includes Don’t Mess With Texas, Adopt-a-Highway, and a grassroots partnership with Keep Texas Beautiful.

Come show McAllen pride for a beautiful city by participating in the Great American Clean-up. Sign up today.

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