Weather permitting, Ward 3 will host a community cleanup at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, and organizers are encouraging the public, particularly residents of Ward 3, to participate.
Keep El Dorado Beautiful will assist with the cleanup and award cash incentives to 10 volunteer teams who have signed up to participate and have at least 10 members.
All 10 members must come to Mattocks Park by 11 a.m. for check presentations.
A sack lunch will also be served.
The cleanup is being held in honor of the late Jimmy Reed and Tony Henry, both of whom formerly held the Ward 3, Position 2, seat on the El Dorado City Council and promoted the beautification of their ward and the entire city.
Reed and Henry, who helped found KEB in 2013, died while in office -- Reed in January of 2009 and Henry in September of 2018.
Council members Willie McGhee, who served with Reed and Henry, and George Calloway Jr. represent Ward 3 in positions 1 and 2, respectively.
Ward 3 is the first ward to host a cleanup since KEB revived its ward cleanup and cash-incentive program in a partnership with the El Dorado City Council.
The cash incentives were introduced in 2018 in an effort to boost participation in community cleanups, particularly those that were coordinated in each ward by city council members, with help from KEB.
The aim was to host four cleanups per year, one in each city ward.
The program lasted through 2019 before it was halted by the COVID-pandemic and a lack of funding.
Clean Harbors, who had donated funding for the program in its inaugural years, included money its budget to relaunch the cash incentives this year.
Dan Roblee, general manager of Clean Harbors and a member of KEB, announced late last year that Clean Harbors would be able to support the program in 2023.
In the revamped cash-incentive program, KEB is prioritizing youth groups to assist with expenses that often go along with participation in youth programs, such as sports teams, church groups and youth development and service groups (Camp Fire, girl and boy scouts, The Young Artist Studio, etc.).
Youth groups may also qualify for cash incentives by scheduling "pop-up cleanups" -- individualized efforts that are held in the interim of larger, community cleanups -- in the city, KEB has said.
One local AAU youth basketball team recently received a $300 cash award from KEB after hosting a "pop-up cleanup" in the St. Louis neighborhood.
The incentive program also helps KEB to advance its mission of engaging the community in building a sustainable cleanup campaign for the city and expanding its outreach among local youth, KEB members have said.
So far, six volunteer teams have signed up for the Ward 3 cleanup on Saturday, KEB president Janis Van Hook said.
Van Hook said Calloway has submitted a list of five teams and the Four-Leaf Clover 4-H Club at Hugh Goodwin Elementary School also volunteered.
"We've talked to the (KEB) board and we are going to allow the 4-H club to participate in the Ward 3 cleanup because it's so close to end of school year and they have a lot of end-of-the-year school activities going on," Van Hook explained.
"That may give us 11 teams and if it does, we'll let theirs count in the Ward 1 cleanup," she continued.
Hugh Goodwin school is located in Ward 1.
Van Hook and KEB member Valarie Smith recently visited with the Hugh Goodwin 4-H club and talked to students about KEB's mission, which focuses on litter, recycling and beautification.
KEB is working with city council members to plan one more ward cleanup for the spring and the other two in the fall.
In the event of rain on Saturday, the Ward 3 cleanup will be canceled, Van Hook said.
She emphasized that in order to be eligible for cash incentives, volunteer teams must have at least 10 members; and all 10 members must participate fully in the cleanup and return to Mattocks Park at 11 a.m. for check presentations.
Youth volunteer teams must be accompanied by adult chaperones.
Anyone who is interested in participating in the Ward 3 cleanup may report to one of 10 checkpoints for a briefing and to pick up supplies.
Checkpoints include:
St. James Village Outreach Facility, 1308 E. Hillsboro.
Parking lot of the former Pine Tree Motel, 1501 E. Hillsboro.
Starlight Baptist Church, 1406 Detroit.
Murmil Education Center, 200 Ripley Ave.
Marrable Hill Chapel, 110 E. Chapel.
Mattocks Park, Detroit and East Sharp.
St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 1018 Wilson.
The El Dorado Fire Department training facility, 1221 S. Jackson, formerly the site of South Side Elementary School site.
CARSTAR Laney's Collision Center, 916 E. Hillsboro.
New Bethel Baptist Church, 800 S. Smith.
For more information, call McGhee at 870-314-1441, Calloway at 881-1371 or Van Hook at 918-2706.