San Francisco, CA – Armed with brooms, paint brushes and community pride, more than 100 volunteers are expected to join San Francisco Public Works crews to clean and green the Mission and Bernal Heights neighborhoods on Saturday. Everyone is welcome to pitch in.

Volunteers will gather at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 31, 2014, for a kick-off celebration at John O’Connell High School (2355 Folsom St.) before heading to the work sites. Free compost also will be available for San Franciscans who want to bolster the health of their home gardens.

Photo opportunities

• Litter pickup and graffiti removal: Valencia Street, between 16th and 19th streets; Mission Street, between 15th and 26th streets; and around the 16th Street and 24th Street BART stations
• Park beautification: St. Mary’s Park, Justin Drive and Murray Street 
•  Graffiti removal: Folsom and 22nd streets
• Compost giveaway: Folsom and 19th streets
• Gardening: Holly Park public housing development, Appleton Avenue and Patton Street; John O’Connell High School

The work day is the fourth of eight Community Clean Team Day events for the 2014 season. Over the last 13 years, more than 40,000 people have participated in San Francisco Public Works’ oldest volunteer program.

Community Clean Team is sponsored by Public Works, Starbucks, Walgreens, Recology, Academy of Art University, the Emerald Fund, the San Francisco Hilton, Luxor Cab Co., Laborers’ Local 261 and PG&E.

The program is affiliated with Giant Sweep, the City’s anti-litter campaign whose major sponsors include Recology, Clear Channel Outdoor, PG&E, Webcor and the UPS Foundation.

Community Clean Team partners include the Recreation and Park Department, San Francisco Housing Authority, Juvenile Probation Department, San Francisco Arts Commission, all 11 members of the Board of Supervisors, the San Francisco Police Department, Department of the Environment, Port of San Francisco, Sheriff’s Department, Clean City, Caltrans, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco Unified School District, Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, SF Parks Alliance, United Playaz, Mission Neighborhood Centers, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation , Project 20 Pretrial Diversion Program and Community Youth Center.

To learn about volunteer opportunities with San Francisco Public Works, go to www.sfdpw.org/volunteer. More information on Giant Sweep can be found at www.sfgiantsweep.org. 

About San Francisco Public Works: The 24/7 City agency cleans and resurfaces streets; plants and nurtures City-maintained street trees; designs, constructs and maintains City-owned facilities; inspects streets and sidewalks; builds curb ramps; eradicates graffiti; partners with neighborhoods; trains people for jobs; greens the right of way; and educates our communities.

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