Tasks vary from school to school, but include weeding, pruning, edging and laying bark chips. The volunteer commitment is important to Portland Public Schools, which employs only four groundskeepers to care for about 100 sites.
Event sponsors include Pacific Coast Fruit Company and Coastwide Laboratories.
Hands On Greater Portland is overseeing volunteer coordination. Volunteers include PPS parents, students and current and retired staff; members of local faith communities, and other community partners.
Community Care Day is part of Project: Community Care, a program launched in 2001 to match every school with volunteers and hold events throughout the school year. Project: Community Care aids schools, improves learning and fosters long-term partnerships between groups and individual schools.
Last year, 2,100 volunteers participated in Community Care Day at 62 PPS campuses. Volunteers collected 325,000 pounds of landscape debris and 8,900 pounds of trash.
To register or for information, go to Hands On Greater Portland or contact Andre Jackson, 503-916-3078.
