Spring has officially arrived, ushering in the season of Spring Cleanup in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.

April is PRIDE Spring Cleanup Month in southern and eastern Kentucky. This is your chance to demonstrate personal responsibility by volunteering to pick up litter along roadsides and local tourist attractions. Spring Cleanup events are being organized by local PRIDE Coordinators, mayors and judge-executives. PRIDE will assist them with cleanup costs and cleanup supplies, and PRIDE will provide them with free T-shirts for volunteers while supplies last.

When you join the team of Spring Cleanup volunteers, you will:

* Improve your community’s appearance.

* Have fun with friends and family while working together in the great outdoors.

* Inspire others to dispose of trash properly.

* Prove you are proud to call this region home.

Volunteer: Volunteers bring to life “Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment.” Every year, thousands show their appreciation for the region’s beauty by volunteering to pick up litter.

Working together with friends, family and co-workers make the cleanups fast and fun. We all share the benefits of restoring the region’s natural beauty, including: improved quality of life; lower health risks; better recreation sites; economic growth through increased tourism, more retirees and new businesses; and, more job opportunities.

To volunteer in your community contact your local PRIDE Coordinator or call PRIDE toll free at 888-577-4339.

Clean-up totals for Clinton County in 2013:

One (1) stream/lake/river cleaned; five (5) dumps eliminated; 93 roadways cleaned; 184 miles of roadway cleaned; four (4) appliances collected; 6,206 tires collected; 1,494 bags of trash and 15 tons of trash collected; 2,034 volunteers contributed 4,944 volunteer hours.

“Everyone is anxious to get outside after a long, hard winter, and cleaning up your property and neighborhood is a great way to get outdoors,” said Tammie Wilson of PRIDE, the nonprofit organization that began the region’s tradition of an annual Spring Cleanup in 1998.

“PRIDE is all about appreciating the beauty of our region and taking personal responsibility for your corner of it,” Wilson said. “When you look at it that way, you realize that spring cleaning outside your house or business or church is just as important as spring cleaning inside.”

“It’s an exciting time to be in southern and eastern Kentucky, and we need to rally the troops for another record-breaking PRIDE Spring Cleanup campaign,” said Congressman Hal Rogers, who co-founded PRIDE in 1997. “There is a renewed spirit of unity and vigor moving across the region as we work together in Shaping Our Appalachian Region. A vital part of the SOAR initiative is restoring pride in what we have to offer, and the cleanup campaign is a great example of the success we can achieve moving forward.”

“In the past, we have targeted a week or two or even the entire month to conduct Spring Cleanup activities, but this year we aren’t setting limits,” Wilson explained. “We encourage volunteers to begin cleaning their neighborhoods as soon as the weather permits, and we plan to work with elected officials later in the spring to fund community-wide cleanup events.”

PRIDE will provide trash bags and gloves to volunteers who want to pick up litter and dispose of it with their trash. The coordinator will add the volunteer hours to the city or county’s Spring cleanup tally. PRIDE will recognize the region’s cities and counties with the most Spring Cleanup volunteers.

To find your PRIDE originator, click your county on the map at http://kypride.org/service-area/.

For more information on Spring cleanup events or to volunteer in the Albany/Clinton County area, contact Clinton County/City of Albany PRIDE Coordinator Lyle Norris at 606-688-2288 or Clinton County PRIDE Coordinator Tuesday Davis at 606-387-4633, ttdavisfs@windstream.net.