Iowa corps members lead Make A Difference Day community cleanup

Standing, from left: Zach Kopriva, volunteer, John Zapp, two volunteers, Jordan Heiman, three volunteers, Darin Radatz, Candice McElroy. Seated: Tiffany Vincent, Chris Severson.To celebrate national Make A Difference Day, Conservation Corps Iowa crews led a community cleanup of the Skunk River at Brookside Park in Ames, Iowa on October 27. A partnership with the City of Ames, the cleanup engaged over 15 community volunteers in river education and litter pickup, followed by a pizza party and prizes. Corps members worked hard planning and leading the event, developing and posting fliers to recruit volunteers, soliciting donations from corporate sponsors, conducting outreach presentations about the Corps and educating the community about the river, water quality and safety. Corps members and volunteers removed over 3,000 pounds of trash out of the Squaw Creek Watershed, including tires, an exercise bicycle, scrap metal, a rod-iron chair and an agricultural bin. A special thanks to volunteers and the following event sponsors: City of Ames, Park and Recreation Department for trash disposal; Walmart for event-day supplies; Pancheros, Panera, JAX Sports and Outdoors and Cold Stone Creamery for prizes; Little Caesar’s for pizza.

Check out what corps members have to say about Conservation Corps Iowa, AmeriCorps National Service and the Make A Difference Day Event!