By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Students from Missouri Western State University will hit the streets tomorrow to clean up the community.
For a fourth year in a row, the Griffons will give back, during a special day of service on Friday.
Director of the Center of Service Kim Sigrist says students will be out doing a litter pickup, an idea she got from seeing a community doing a six mile stretch, but Sigrist says she wanted to go bigger
"We're going to do a nine mile cleanup in 90 minutes on Friday," Sigrist tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "So, we'll pickup litter and clean along the way clear from the entrance to Krug Park to the Green Hills on King Hill Avenue, so it's giong to take a lot of hands and a lot of logistics."
About 200 students are expected to help with the effort to clean the nine mile stretch over an hour and a half, leaving campus at 9:15 and returning by noon.
Sigrist says the event is also a great chance for students to find some things in the city that they might not find otherwise
"A couple years ago we did a cleanup down on King Hill and I can remember a group of students that found a little shop on King Hill Avenue, and they were like we just found the best place and we would have never found it," Sigrist explains. "So, it really is that connection for our students to the community, so yeah we're looking forward to that."
Sigrist says with students wearing bright yellow shirts as they clean, people from the community notice, and have voiced their appreciation for the effort
"It's very common for us to get honks and waves and thank yous out the window, so yes it is noticed by the community," Sigrist says. "And that's one of the things that we really try to impress upon our students, is how important it is for the city of St. Joseph and its residents to see that our students want to make a difference while they're here."
Sigrist says not only does the positive reception from the community help, but surveyed students have said how volunteering has helped them feel empowered and like they are making a difference.