Lend a hand May 7 for the Downtown Tillamook Cleanup

by Mallory Gruben
Communications Manager

Despite the strange weather patterns of late, it’s still the time of year to begin spring cleaning in preparation for sunnier days ahead. Here at the Chamber, we hope to kick off the traditions of springtime tidying with our annual Downtown Tillamook Cleanup, sponsored by US Bank!

Scheduled for 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on May 7, the Downtown Cleanup will bring volunteers together to weed sidewalks, clean signs, blow leaves and pick up garbage downtown to keep our community attractive and appealing for locals and visitors alike. After a long winter — and an unusual April snow —we’ll make the city shine.

We’ll focus on the five blocks along Main Street and Pacific, splitting up into small groups to cover the whole area. We encourage you to bring your family or friends along as a little work party. Or show up solo and meet new friends as you work together!

North Coast Lawn graciously lends us all the equipment we need to do our work, so no need to bring any tools. And the Chamber supplies work gloves in multiple sizes, including kids’ sizes. Afterward, you can head to Dutch Mill for a free “thank you” meal to show our appreciation for your help!

This is one of my personal favorite events of the year, because it feels great to give back to the community. Plus, there’s something so satisfying about scraping away the moss that’s grown between pavers over the winter. It’s such a simple act that makes all the difference — and you can immediately see how much better the sidewalks look because of it.

And this year, I’m especially excited to include extra hands on our volunteer crew! We’ve invited the Young Pros Tillamook network to the Downtown Cleanup, and several members have already scheduled the event into their calendars. We hope this event will be one of many “Engage” events, where the Young Pros can give back to the community through service and fundraising.

For folks who aren’t part of the Young Pros network, this will be a great opportunity to meet some of the talented young professionals who live here in Tillamook — if you haven’t already met them through their many community involvements. As it turns out, many of our Young Pros are already active volunteers!

We have a link on our website for volunteers to sign up for Downtown Cleanup, or you can email me at mallory@tillamookchamber.org. This year we will work for 8 a.m. to noon. If you can’t make it for the full shift, no worries! Join us when you can to lend a hand however long you’re able. When it comes to spring cleaning, every little bit counts!