Over the Memorial Day weekend volunteers from the City of Foley, Baldwin County, and the Mills neighborhood banded together for Mills Pride Day. The event cleaned up the Mills community and created a sense of comradery for all who participated.
Mills Pride Day brought together businesses, local leaders, a range of City of Foley departments, various Baldwin County employees, and volunteers, all intent on cleaning litter and debris from area right-of-ways. The Mills community includes the areas north of Highway 98, west of County Road 65, and southeast of the Magnolia River.
The event kicked off at 8 a.m. and thanks to the hard work of close to 100 volunteers, many of which were residents of the Mills region, the entire area was cleaned up by noon and the group was able to enjoy a much-deserved lunch together. As a result of the cleanup, 19 tons of solid waste was removed and another 78 pounds of materials were recycled.
Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich, County Commissioner Billie Jo Underwood, and Foley Councilwoman Vera Quaites were among those volunteers who jumped right in and got their hands dirty. Ecumenical Ministries, Inc was instrumental in organizing the community and spreading the word about the event. Baldwin County Solid Waste provided dumpsters. A number of Baldwin County employees assisted in planning and the cleanup itself. The City of Foley Environmental Department organized Mills Pride Day, provided lunch, and had t-shirts made. Foley’s Department of Public Works staff was on hand to collect materials and mow all the newly-cleaned right-of-ways. The Foley Police Department cooked lunch for everyone and patrolled the roadways to keep volunteers safe in their efforts. Osprey Initiatives came from Mobile to clean up and collect recyclables. Friends from the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program provided pickers and recycle bags as well as their precious time to help with the event.
City of Foley Environmental Department Director Leslie Gahagan said the event was proof of what the entire community can accomplish when they all come together.
“It was truly a team effort,” Gahagan said. “Departments from across the City of Foley working in tandem with Baldwin County employees was a lot a fun, and add to that the passionate volunteers from the local community it was an atmosphere that had everyone excited. To be able to get so much accomplished in such a short period made us all feel a bit unstoppable.”
The Mills Pride group is pushing forward with more activities to engage the community in the future. For
more information on the event contact Leslie Gahagan at lgahagan@cityoffoley.org.
Original source can be found here.
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