Nearly 4000 Ready to Beautify CNMI

The largest island-wide cleanup in Micronesian history is set to begin in a few short hours. From the Marianas Variety:

4,000 volunteers are set to hit the streets and beaches of Saipan in what is expected to be the largest islandwide cleanup in Micronesian history, a media release stated.

“The support the community is showing us has been tremendous,” explained co-organizer Angelo Villagomez of Pew Environment Group. “We have businesses, government agencies, schools, and even families registered to participate.”

As of Thursday afternoon, 51 volunteer groups had adopted 48 sites around Saipan. According to Beautify CNMI volunteer Ken Kramer, “The cleanup we organized in 2006 had 32 volunteer groups. This one is nearly double the size.”

Deputy Secretary of Labor and Beautify CNMI founder Cinta Kaipat had a reminder for all participants: “Don’t forget to take before, during, and after pictures of your cleanups. We will post these on the Beautify CNMI blog and the two groups with the largest number of volunteers and most trash collected will win $100 each. We’ll use the photos submitted to determine the winners.”

The Division of Environmental Quality, the Rotary Club of Saipan, the Marianas Visitors Authority and the Marianas Tourism Education Council are the co-organizers of the islandwide cleanup. Supplies were donated by MVA and McDonald’s.

For more information on the how to participate in the cleanup, contact Joe Kaipat at 664-8500 or Angelo Villagomez via email at angelovillagomez@gmail.com .

A list of all participants can be found by visiting http://beautifycnmi.blogspot.com.