Lend your volunteer muscle to help at our sixth annual Missouri River Relief Clean-up

Kansas City, MO - infoZine - Missouri River Relief will be hosting their sixth annual Missouri River Clean-up on Saturday, October 4, at La Benite Park located in Sugar Creek, MO, just east of the 291 bridge (east of Kansas City). The clean-up starts at 9:00 am., rain or shine, with onsite registration beginning at 8:30 a.m.

"With all the high water this year, there are tons of trash to clean up downstream of Kansas City," said Vicki Richmond, MRR's Western Reach Manager. "We can use all the help we can get!"

Individuals, groups and families are all welcome and can register on-site at La Benite Park or online at riverrelief.org (linked to below). Volunteers will be shuttled out to trashy spots along the Missouri River by a flotilla of boats representing seven government agencies, two non-profits and one engineering firm. Boat drivers will include the Missouri Department of Conservation, Jackson County, Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, Burns and McDonnell, the EPA, Rivermiles LLC, and Missouri River Relief.

Crews will clean-up their stretch of the river, bagging and gathering trash together to be picked up later by Missouri River Relief's hardworking volunteer crew of river rats. Trash will be unloaded and sorted at La Benite Park. Media opportunities include accompanying volunteer crews in the morning and seeing the trash come in throughout the afternoon.

Volunteers will be supplied with gloves, trash bags, life-preservers and water. Each volunteer will get a t-shirt. They should wear work clothes (expect to get muddy), rugged mud boots or tennis shoes (no flip-flops!). Sunglasses and sunscreen are suggested. After cleaning their stretch of river, volunteers will be shuttled back to shore where they'll be served a complimentary lunch.

Our crews will be scouting the river by boat the afternoon of Friday, October 3, following the Missouri River Watershed Festival. Media are welcome to join us to help spread the word about the next day's clean-up. Volunteer turnout is essential to any big river clean-up, and media exposure really boosts good turnout. Contact Vicki Richmond (816) 812-5166 for scheduling.

Missouri River clean-ups provide a unique opportunity for individuals to experience the Missouri River close up while helping in our project of restoring this amazing resource for future generations to enjoy.

This event and Missouri River Relief are supported by these wonderful state and local sponsors and partners: Advantage Recycling, American Compressed Steel, Americorps, Anheuser-Busch, Bass Pro Shop, BP, Burns & McDonnell, Cargill, City of Sugar Creek, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Cosentino's Price Chopper, Dave and Fran Stous, EarthShare of Missouri, Intellectual Property Management Group, Kansas City Power & Light, KCMO Water Services, Jackson County, Little Blue River Watershed Coalition, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri River Communities Network, Missouri Stream Team, National Park Service, Pat Jones, Platte Land Trust, Port Authority of Kansas City, Rivermiles LLC, Timberland, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Warrior Ant Press, Water One, Watershed Institute, Wyandotte County Conservation District

Related links
Contact: Vicki Richmond; e-mail:
cell phone: (816) 812.5166
www.riverrelief.org