Republic serves up service with day dedicated to beautification, maintenance

Republic’s annual day of service kicked off on Saturday, June 13. The city’s annual cleanup combined with the Republic Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual highway cleanup project. 

Volunteers fought through bad weather to complete various acts of service throughout the city. 

Republic Day of Service is hosted annually by the city’s Rotary Club, which saw more than 150 volunteers join their cause to clean and beautify the city while also helping those in need. 

The Day of Service kicked off early in the morning with a pancake breakfast at the Republic Community Kitchen. Following this, the Rotary Club took on 15 different projects around Republic, with the chamber of commerce hosting a cleanup along U.S. Highway 60. 

Several projects at once

Throughout the day, volunteers painted the front wall and entrance of the Republic History Museum; repaired the walking trail in Miller Park; undertook landscaping work; picked up trash along the corridor to the city; held an animal adoption event; painted the walls of the Republic Pregnancy Care Center; and built a wheelchair ramp for a local homeowner, among other projects. 

Registration for the volunteer events was filled online according to Rotary President David Burton, but even more turned out to help the community, despite the rain and wind. 

'We thought if we had 60 volunteers, we could call it a success,’ said Burton. “[On] our official registration list today, we had 140. We had [at least] 40 show up that had not registered.”

The inspiration for the day of service came from a national trend where cities in the United States devote an entire day to service events or finishing big projects, said Burton. 

In total, volunteers were able to serve an estimated 850 residents through food assistance, youth sports support, landscaping, animal welfare and neighborhood improvement efforts. 

“The completed projects are expected to benefit thousands more residents throughout the coming year through improvements to parks, schools, trails, public facilities, and community organizations," said Burton.

With great participation and success this year, Burton already has some ideas for next year.

“The intention is to do it every year, maybe some bigger projects and maybe a couple partnerships with the city … to do things that help beautify the community or are of service to other nonprofits,” said Burton.

CUTS: Republic Area Chamber of Commerce Director Macy Mitchell runs through the game plan with volunteers before they begin picking up trash along roadways.

Volunteers work through the rain to paint the front of the Republic History Museum on Main Street.