FOR MANY, late-summer Sundays are a time to relax, to enjoy the nice days as they grow shorter and milder.
There are some, however, who don’t mind spending an afternoon working on a seemingly mundane project that ultimately benefits the entire community.
On Sunday, more than 10 people took several hours out of their busy schedules to walk the sidewalks downtown picking up trash and looking for overgrown weeds. Wearing gloves and carrying trash bags, the volunteers could be seen kneeling for a piece of litter or a weed poking through the sidewalk.
These downtown cleanups, sponsored by Emporia Main Street, are held several times a year. Although the results might be subtle, they are no less meaningful.Think what the streets would look like if litter were allowed to collect downtown, if no one took the time to clean the streets, if there were no one with enough pride of place to volunteer for this valuable service.
With news about larger contributions to Emporia dominating the headlines — Clint Bowyer’s $100,000 contribution to his 79 Fund at the Emporia Community Foundation, an anonymous $75,000 challenge grant for the Emporia Arts Council — it’s important to recognize those who make smaller contributions and gifts of their time.
The trash bags, gloves and equipment were provided by Emporia Main Street. But without the volunteers, the cleanups would be pointless. The fact that there are citizens who care enough to take the time to work for a more beautiful city says a lot about the amount of civic pride Emporians carry with them. That their contributions might be less visible in the face of more prominent contributors doesn’t take away from the importance of the work these volunteers do.
Russ Morgan
Reporter