LAFAYETTE, La. — The streets of Lafayette are cleaner after Parish Proud and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette brought hundreds of people out Saturday to pick up trash.
The event focused on areas organizers are calling the entryway to Lafayette -- mostly on University Avenue between the campus and I-10.
UL student Bethany Sistrunk says events like this one promote camaraderie between students and others in Lafayette, along with a more beautiful cityscape.
“We really just want to aim to give back and just have one big day of thanks to all the people who give so much to our university,” she said. "We also want to promote service amongst our student body and encourage them to continue to volunteer in our community outside of the big event.”
Trevian Ambroise, another UL student, says more people joined than they anticipated. They thought they would get around 50 to 100 volunteers, but that wasn’t the case.
“We actually, which is a big surprise, we actually ended up with around 500 to 600 volunteers,” he said. "Those volunteers of course are participating both in person, virtual, and this year, even at home.”
The event also prompted students to plant a total of 23 trees on campus.
Down the street, and in collaboration with this project, Parish Proud also hosted a clean-up event.
Director Brienne Hendricks hopes the clean-ups will cause a ripple effect in the community.
“One of the top reasons why people litter is because there’s already litter in that area,” she said. “So, while we’re out here picking up that litter, and instilling more pride in the area, people are less likely to litter after.”
She says because the events are outdoors and there is so much ground to cover, these events continue to safely happen amid the pandemic.
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