[Press Release] : MU students partner with city of Columbia to clean up Flat Branch and downtown Columbia on Wednesday

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2008

CONTACT: Leigh Britt
Volunteer Coordinator
(573)  874-7504
or
Mona Menezes
 Storm Water Educator
(573) 817-6447
or
Megan Gore
Volunteer Coordinator 
for MU’s Office of Community Involvement
(573) 884-8268

MU students partner with city of Columbia to clean up Flat Branch and
downtown Columbia on Wednesday
								
	(COLUMBIA, MO) - Fifty University of Missouri students will
converge on Flat Branch Park Wednesday afternoon, April 30, at 4 p.m. to
clean up Flat Branch Creek and remove graffiti in downtown Columbia. The
students, who are participating as part of “Tiger Hour,” will begin
their work at Flat Branch Park at Fourth & Cherry streets. The project
is a joint effort of the city of Columbia and MU’s Office of Community
Involvement.
	The work of the students is important for several reasons. They
will be picking up litter in Flat Branch Park and along the creek in
advance of the dedication of Flat Branch Park Phase II on Saturday, May
3, and they will be tackling graffiti, which continues to plague
downtown Columbia. The project is also scheduled during National
Volunteer Week which is April 27 through May 3.
	Litter pickup improves the appearance of the park and also
protects the city’s urban streams and wildlife. In addition to litter
causing pollution in the streams, wildlife can either ingest discarded
trash or become entangled. Nearly all the trash in Columbia's streams
has come in through storm drains. MU students will not only be helping
Columbia, they are ultimately keeping discarded plastics and other trash
from reaching our oceans. 
	Over 476 students have been involved with the MU Office of
Community Involvement, completing 17,734 hours of service during the
2007-2008 academic year.  Tiger Hour is the newest program within the
office that allows students to complete a one-time project for one hour
out of the week.
	Wednesday’s project is just one example of the many ways
volunteers service the city of Columbia. Each year, hundreds of
volunteers share more than 40,000 hours of volunteer service with the
city. To find out more about getting involved, visit
www.GoColumbiaMo.com or call the Office of Volunteer Services at
874-7499.

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