Sarah Coil, communications director at the hospital, said they adopted the highway six years ago and make efforts to clean the roadside at least three times a year in the summer, spring, and fall, equipped with vests provided by the county highway department. Coil said the hospital is committed to community issues and concerns, and wants to play a strong role in the community’s well-being.
“The hospital is committed to the well-being of the community as a whole, not just helping heal people who are ill. The hospital wants to see itself as a contributor to everything that goes on in the community,” Coil explained.
The hospital is looking for volunteers from the community who are interested in lending a helping hand to the cause. Nothing is required of volunteers except for their time Saturday morning to pick up litter and put it in garbage bags.
“When the participants meet, initially they’ll be given reflective vests and garbage bags and anything they would need to complete the job of picking up litter along the highway, and then they will literally just go up and down the one- to two-mile stretch that the hospital has adopted and they will pick up trash, litter, aluminum cans, whatever they find. Apparently in the past they’ve found some very interesting items that required turning over to law enforcement agencies, but I don’t know what all happened with that,” said Coil.
The event lasts only about an hour and a half, according to Coil, who said volunteers will meet at Church of the Heartland at 8 a.m. The clean-up effort will commence shortly afterward, when participants will be given their vests and garbage bags.
