Volunteer groups in Tangipahoa Parish dedicated to preventing litter and assisting in making communities more beautiful participated in various activities in record numbers as part of the statewide Love the Boot Week celebrated in Louisiana April 20-28.
Love the Boot Week was an initiative launched by Keep Louisiana Beautiful, a coalition of volunteer organizations who stage cleanup campaigns, assist in beautification efforts and in general support programs and projects that enhance the environment.
Susan Russell, executive director of Keep Louisiana Beautiful, along with Billy Nungesser, the state’s lieutenant governor, launched this special effort to rid the state of litter weeks before the event unfolded.
In Tangipahoa Parish, Keep Hammond Beautiful, the Tangipahoa Chamber of Commerce and Keep Tangi Beautiful all played a role in the observation of Love the Boot Week. In Hammond, 88 volunteers gathered at the chamber’s office for a citywide cleanup that resulted in 109 bags of litter and five bags of recyclable aluminum cans being removed from the city’s streets.
Gena Anthon, president of Keep Hammond Beautiful, said of the day’s event, “It was encouraging to see such wonderful participation for the Hammond Love the Boot Cleanup! There were so many different types of groups … a fraternity from Southeastern Louisiana University, a couple of school groups, a Cub Scout pack, employees from a large business and a bank.
"Some service groups and families and concerned citizens also showed up to help. Watching people come together to work on any projects is rewarding in itself. What a great day for our city.”
Whitney Statham, director of grounds for the City of Hammond, echoed Anthon’s remarks. “When I look at the number of volunteers who came out on a Saturday morning to pick up litter I realize that our citizens care about their city. No one should ever throw litter from their vehicles, but as long as there are those who don’t get the ‘don’t litter’ message, we have to make an effort to clean up our city. It’s great to see some young Cub Scouts here today. If they pick up litter, they will learn not to become litters themselves.”
Dori St. Cyr, Hammond city employee who works with Keep Hammond Beautiful, said the effort put forward by the volunteers represented 188 hours of labor with a value of $4,780.
“Volunteers picking up litter save the city the cost of having employees do the job," she said. "Not only do the volunteers help clean up the city, they save the city money.”
Melissa Bordeleon, executive director of the Tangipahoa Chamber of Commerce, thanked Keep Hammond Beautiful for the efforts put forth by the volunteers on Love the Boot day that was celebrated on Saturday, April 27.
Throughout the week different communities in Tangipahoa Parish conducted other cleanup events. A group affiliated with Keep Tangi Beautiful helped clean up Amite. Volunteers with the organization also swept through a portion of U.S. Highway 51 south of Tickfaw cleaning up the roadsides. Among the volunteers for this program were employees from Crescent City Engineers.
Ginger Tastet, executive director of Keep Tangi Beautiful and director of the Tangipahoa Litter Prevention Department, said the group working in the Tickfaw area picked up 30 bags of litter along with some discarded tires.
During Love the Boot Week Tastet said she assisted in removing 150 “snipe signs” that were in dedicated rights of way. “Many of our citizens just don’t realize that these signs are illegal; they cause litter, they distract drivers, and that they just do not belong in rights of way. Further, many of these signs have a very short useful life … they are used to announce various events and when the event has passed, the individuals who put them on the roadside never bother to pick them up. These signs are just one more eyesore in our otherwise beautiful parish,” she said.
Tastet also spearheads an ambitious program that seeks to fight litter in the long run by teaching fourth graders in the parish the importance of litter prevention. “We believe that if we can get young children to learn the importance of not littering then they will remember that lesson for the rest of their lives. We have also learned that they will tell their families and friends not to litter.”
Among the group of volunteers at the Hammond cleanup were members of the Loranger High School Interact Club. When asked why they had given up a Saturday morning to pick up someone’s else’s trash, several replied, “Our motto is, ‘Service Above Self,’ and we all agreed that helping to pick up litter was a necessary service. It was a privilege to come here today and be part of Love the Boot Week.”