Thousands Prepare For Free Nationwide Cleaning Blitz

Thousands Prepare For Free Nationwide Cleaning Blitz 23 March 2011

AUCKLAND, New Zealand ‹

Chainsaws will be buzzing, water blasters hissing, and weed eaters chomping through scrub, across New Zealand this Saturday, 26 March. Services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars will be provided all over the country. But local communities won't pay a cent. The voluntary work is all part of the hugely popular Mormon Helping Hands Day.

This year is the 4th annual cleanup campaign. Volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be out in force across the country donating between 15,000 ¬ 20,000 hours of their time to work in their communities. Their bright yellow vests will dot parks, reserves, schools and churches as they serve, often in conjunction with local M.P.s and mayors.

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown worked with Mormon Helping Hands in a planting project last year. The Mayor selected their current project ‹ beautifying the Tawatawa reserve in Island Bay ¬ and will kick start their morning. Over 200 Helping Hands volunteers will work in conjunction with the Southern Environment Association and City Council Rangers to spread mulch, clear weeds and build trails. The reserve, encompassing a wetland, is a recreational area used by Wellingtonians to walk dogs, observe wildlife and hike.

Past Wellington projects have seen 280 Mormon Helping Hands volunteers give Ridgway School a makeover then return to plant the adjoining Vogelmorn Park. They¹ve also worked with the Wellington Activity Centre, Women¹s Refuge, Wellington Night Shelter, The Wellington Soup Kitchen (Suzanne Aubert Centre of Compassion), Neonatal Intensive Care unit, with Wellington City Council at Central Park and with Breast Cancer patients. Porirua

Mormon Helping Hands will team with Porirua City Council, Keep Porirua Beautiful, and local residents to beautify and develop Bothamley Park in Porirua East. They will be erecting a picnic table and park benches, maintaining the walking track, repairing a bridge and cleaning up litter throughout the area.

Tania Torea, Porirua Director of Public Affairs for the Church, says, ³It¹s great to work together as a community and improve the park for local residents. Adding a picnic table and benches will encourage people to spend more time here. Improving tracks to eliminate mud in winter will encourage more walkers.²

Other Porirua projects have included 120 people working at Mana College last year, beach cleanups, work with Porirua Relay for Life, local food banks and Women¹s Refuge.

Lower Hutt Graffiti has been a growing problem in the Hutt Valley and the Hutt City Council saw an opportunity to address the issue when they were approached by Helping Hands. Council staff have worked closely with Mormon Helping Hands to identify seven sites that will be painted to eradicate graffiti. Mayor Ray Wallace will start the project at the Church¹s local chapel then move onsite with the work teams. Past projects in Hutt Valley have included painting the Upper Hutt Railway station, cleaning up 4 km of riverbank on the Hutt River, and tree planting.

Palmerston North Mormon Helping Hands volunteers in Palmerston North have decided to utilise this opportunity to raise funds for Christchurch by holding three carwashes in the city. Donations for Canterbury will be collected while they clean residents¹ cars. Past projects in Palmerston have included work with Methodist Services restoring furniture and sorting 15 tonnes of clothing as well as work with local food banks.

Foxton Foxton recently completed their project a week early, at Foxton Primary School, Te Kura O Awahou. 24 Mormon Helping Hands volunteers from the area painted, weeded, created teaching resources and performed general maintenance last weekend.

Principal Ani Rauhihi opened the project and welcomed the team. Local Foxton Branch President of the Church, Gary Patchett, said, ³I was very pleased with the turnout and the amount of work accomplished. It¹s been a great day for us and the school.²

Auckland Droves of workers wearing yellow vests will be present at primary schools across Auckland painting, landscaping and doing general maintenance. Windy Ridge Primary School, Bailey Road School, Onehunga Primary School, Mangere Central Primary School and Green Bay School will benefit from the Church¹s annual service day.

Mormon Helping Hands will also be cleaning up at Waikumete Cemetery and working on the Trail Rail Cycleway. Yet more volunteers from the Church will be working on a food drive for the Salvation Army to replenish their food banks.

It is estimated that 2,000 volunteers will give over 6,000 hours of community service in Auckland alone.

Christchurch In the wake of the recent earthquake in Christchurch, the planned Mormon Helping Hands project on 26 March has been canceled, but service has been ongoing since February 22, 2011. Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been out serving in their communities, albeit without their yellow bibs, and often alongside other community groups.

Local Stake President Maurice McDonald who is responsible for the Church in Canterbury says, ³From day one, it¹s been constant. We haven¹t been wearing our yellow vests, we¹ve just gotten out and given service as part of the community. We won¹t have stood out as a group but our people have been involved everywhere.²

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ have been working on water containment teams, manning Civil Defence Centres, working with the Red Cross, providing counseling, cleaning sections, delivering trailers full of food to communities and knocking on doors to check on people.

³Our people have done a tremendous lot of good, not just with members of our faith, but with their neighbours and wider community,² says McDonald. The Church has been flying three trained counselors into Christchurch for three days each week to work with people including families who are feeling fragile or shaky.

³After the September quake, we learned that you can clear up the physical surroundings, but the psychological effects linger. We¹re glad to be a part of that work as well,² he said.

Last year Christchurch Mormon Helping Hands volunteers restored a playground at Glenelg Health Camp.

Mormon Helping Hands groups will be involved in additional projects in main cities in New Zealand as well as in many provincial areas. Throughout the year they also give service in their communities on a smaller scale, working with local agencies and councils to improve their environments and reach out to those who need help.

The Mormon Helping Hands program is a worldwide service initiative of the Church and is just one part of the Church¹s overall welfare and humanitarian program.

³Church members around the world donate nearly a million days of service per year to manage the Church¹s water, hygiene and vaccination initiatives and have given over a billion dollars in monetary and in-kind donations over the last 20 years,² according to the Church¹s National Director of Public Affairs, Anthony Wilson.

The worldwide humanitarian aid program of the Church provides disaster relief and other humanitarian services for families in need throughout the world, irrespective of their nationality, race or religion.

ends

© Scoop Media