April 1 events about community involvement

PORTALES — April 1 will be a day of community involvement, according to the organizers of two upcoming events.

Eastern in Action, taking place April 1, is "an opportunity for ENMU students to give back to the community of Portales," according to director Thalia Pantoja.

Various student organizations and individual volunteers from Eastern New Mexico University will meet at 7 a.m. at the Campus Union Building and disperse throughout Portales to do various jobs for residents and businesses, who submit job site forms, she said.

The projects, according to Pantoja, vary from dusting and painting houses to mowing lawns and getting rid of weeds and stop just short of projects involving power tools.

"In terms of equipment, we have shovels, rakes; we'll pick up trash. We have all the basic equipment, wheelbarrows, that kind of thing. Anything like lawnmowers, weed whackers, that kind of thing, the participant would have to supply those to students," she said.

Pantoja sees Eastern in Action as a way for university students to let it be known that they are contributing members of the greater Portales community.

"We really want to strengthen the connection between ENMU and the rest of Portales. We think oftentimes ENMU is kind of just stuck in its own little bubble, so we really kind of want to bridge that gap this year," she said. "It's just a day of realizing that service is important, and that is something that you should integrate into your life, even if it is one day a year."

She recalled the impact last year's Eastern in Action had on a community member.

"I remember one of the first job site forms we got in last year was from a little old lady, and she wrote a note that said, 'I'm so appreciative to everything that your students do. Thank you so much to Eastern in Action for making this happen,' and I was in tears, because I just thought it was so nice. That's really what pushed me to want to be the director this year," she said.

Another community service initiative, the Great American Clean Up, will be taking place April 1, and is an effective reminder to younger participants not to litter, according to Portales Deputy Clerk Veda Urioste.

"My big thing is, take your kids out. Teach them at a young age that this is what people throw out the window. If they can make sure that their kids don't throw out the window, then their kids can tell other kids and so on and so forth," she said.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. at City Park and will see volunteers dispersing all over Portales until roughly 1 p.m. to see who can pick up the most trash.

Three prizes of $75 will be given to the team that gathers the most trash by the end of the event, the largest group and the group that donates the most canned food items, Urioste said.

Her most treasured memory of the Great American Clean Up was when her own children participated and won a prize for the most aluminum cans collected.

"They went out and picked up trash with their uncle. They were really excited," she said.

Fees to tip garbage at the Portales Convenience Center will be waived from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. April 1 as part of the Great American Clean Up, according to Urioste.

Interested residents have until March 26 to submit a job site form to Eastern in Action. The forms can be picked up at the ENMU Police Department, and additional information can be obtained by leaving a message at 575-562-2477.

For more information about the Great American Clean Up, call Urioste at 575-356-6662.