Down in the dumps because of the rainy weather? Here’s a surefire way to brighten your mood: This Saturday, go pick up some trash.
No kidding. Picking up trash, along with others in your community on Green Up Day, makes you feel good — even great. That’s because you’ll be a part of a town-wide effort to make everyday life in your town a bit better. It’s because you’ll exhibit pride in your community and others will notice you for that. It’s because it feels good to give to a greater cause.
Most town Green Up Day coordinators already have trash bags available with active campaigns running throughout this week. Several towns in the county hold special activities this Saturday to celebrate this annual rite of spring. In Goshen, they host coffee and muffins in the morning starting at 8 a.m., then host a BBQ in the afternoon, both at the town hall. In Leicester, Kate Briggs is heading up that town’s effort with a cookout and raffle at 11 a.m. at the town hall, as the Green Up effort lasts throughout the day. Lincoln also has a BBQ and raffle, Orwell has a bag raffle and ice cream at the town garage, Salisbury has a community dinner at 6 p.m. at the school, Middlebury has a cookout at Otter Creek Brewery from 11:30 to 2 p.m., while Brandon has refreshments in the town park from 8 to 10 a.m. to get things going. New Haven is serving hot dogs from 11 a.m. to noon, and Monkton is throwing a spaghetti dinner at the school from 5-7 p.m. for all those who worked the day making their town that much better.
All towns, of course, participate in the statewide Green Up effort and have coordinators who have plans on how to most effectively Green Up. For those residents not interested in being a part of the group effort but plan to work on your own, a quick call to their coordinator to let them know what roads or neighborhoods you intend to cover helps in the overall planning. A list of those coordinators with phone numbers, plus Green Up Day information per town was published in this past Monday’s paper and is on the homepage of our website at www.addisonindependent.com.
So, chase those rainy day blues away. Pick up a several bagfuls of trash this Saturday and you’ll feel the glow of community pride warm you right to the soul.
Angelo S. Lynn