Ahead of Earth Day, residents of East Meadow will have an opportunity to keep their community clean.
The Earth Day Cleanup Project is a partnership between the East Meadow Union Free School District, the Girl Scouts of East meadow and the East Meadow Baseball and Softball Association.
The cleanups will happen at each elementary school in East Meadow on April 26 at 12:00 p.m. There will also be cleanups at the East Meadow Baseball Complex and the triangle between Roosevelt Ave. and Prospect Ave., just south of Hempstead Turnpike. Each location will have a girl scout troop leading the effort.
Ted Rosenthal co-founded Friends for a Beautiful East Meadow with Taleen Krug and Richie Krug Jr. The two-year-old organization has the sole focus of improving East Meadow’s appearance and environment at once.
“The good thing about it is that the schools and the ball fields are kept pretty well, but what we’re trying to instill in the young people of the community is that this is our home and it is our obligation to help where we can,” he said.
The last Earth Day cleanup was held two years ago.
“The first time, it was a Friends for a Beautiful East Meadow project, and we contacted the Girl Scouts who were thrilled to be included,” Rosenthal said. “This year was almost reverse; before we even started planning, the Girl Scouts contacted us and said, ‘let’s do it again.’
“I think it’s fantastic,” he continued. “It occurred to them to do it, and now we have people thinking about these types of projects, and hopefully more and more do so it’s not just what we’re putting it out.”
Beautification has multiple benefits, according to Rosenthal.
“Our goal is to bring attention to the fact that more beautiful our areas are, the more people enjoy living here, and the more people enjoy working here, and the more people enjoy shopping here and doing business here,” he said. “East Meadow is a wonderful place to be.”
Additionally, the group will be holding a special contest for local businesses beginning on May 1. The “Most Fabulous Business” award will be granted to whichever local establishment earns the most votes over the course of two months. The theme of the friendly competition is to beautify: plant flowers, dress up windows and start a movement to improve the beauty of the region.
While the organization may be young, Taleen Krug noted that its growth indicates a bright future to come.
“As we continue to grow this event and year over year, we definitely have been able to add both participation volunteers and different areas that people would like to clean up,” she said. “The more people, whether you’re involved in a community organization or not, or you just have a passion to help, this is the perfect event for you.”
To learn more, visit FabEM.org.
