Community Action Volunteers of Aquinas College will join to clean up Heartside Neighborhood

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GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN (April 23, 2010) — The Heartside Downtown Neighborhood of Grand Rapids will get a once-over Saturday April 24 with the help of Community Action Volunteers of Aquinas (CAVA). The annual cleanup, called Heartside PRIDE Cleansweep will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The new name reflects the coordination between CAVA and community organizations: Brian Himes, CAVA coordinator, and Eric Bridge, the club’s advisor, have planned the event in collaboration with Jennifer Schaub from HDNA (Heartside Downtown Neighborhood Association) and James Schuen, outreach pastor at Heartside Ministries.

Himes expects the turnout to be similar to last year’s event, which saw roughly 140 students work on the project with about 60 other volunteers, mostly community residents. After meeting at the Cook Carriage House, Aquinas participants will travel to Heartside Park to meet up with resident volunteers. Participants will then split up into assigned teams to ensure an efficient cleaning of the area. For their efforts, Aquinas volunteers will receive a free T-shirt, free breakfast, and free lunch provided by Georgio’s Pizza and CAVA.