On Friday, April 5, the staff and fifth grade students of Lawrence Elementary School (3440 W. Maple) will participate in the City’s "Don’t Trash Wichita" campaign by conducting the first official cleanup effort for 2002.
The area where the students will be working is from Meridian and West Street along Maple and Douglas. The project will begin shortly after school starts and last throughout the school day. In the morning, students will break into groups and cover the aforementioned area picking up trash and litter in front of each business and residence they pass. They will then break for lunch. Cleaning and raking of yards for several elderly residents in the area, who have signed up for their assistance, will end their day. Joining the students will be District IV Councilman Bill Gale.
The Rotary Club of West Wichita initiated this effort. During the year, the West Wichita Rotarians work together to provide a special program for each of the classes at Lawrence Elementary. Specific to this project, the West Wichita Rotarians agreed to fund an educational field trip for the students to the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kansas if they would take part in a community project.
To assist in this collaborative effort, the Sunflower Neighborhood Association requested and received funds from the District Advisory Board for District IV to have "Don’t Trash Wichita" t-Shirts made for all the children participating in the cleanup. Seventeen businesses in the area have also agreed to sponsor the effort by placing public trashcans near their entrances. The City of Wichita is supplying stickers with the "Don’t Trash Wichita" logo to the children for them to place on the trashcans as they clean up the litter in the area.
The City of Wichita would like to thank the following organizations and companies for the assistance in the "Don’t Trash Wichita" campaign:
- Rotary Club of West Wichita
- Lawrence Elementary School
- District Advisory Board for District IV
- Sunflower Neighborhood Association
- Kinko’s
- RentWay
- Cinnamon’s Deli
- Quizno’s Subs
- Air Capital Sports
- Custom Nails
- Fastsigns
- Snappy Photo
- Wholesale Hot Tubs
- Walt’s Hamburgers
- Sonic Drive In
- Chico’s Restaurant
- Chico’s Used Cars
- Sports Graphics
- Jackie & Bills
- Darrell J. Chew & Co.
- Flying Colors
- Star Lumber
- Appreciated Advertising
- McGreevy’s Mid West Meat Co. Inc.
- City of Wichita’s Police Department - Patrol West