Volunteer New York! and the city of New Rochelle Parks and Recreation Department teamed up once again for Earth Day to host their annual Volunteer
New Rochelle! Day of Service Clean-up on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25.  This year, the program was expanded from three cleanup sites to 11 neighborhood and waterfront sites across the city of New Rochelle.

Over the cleanup weekend, 350 volunteers worked together in rain and sunshine and accomplished the following:
• More than 130 bags of trash were removed from 11 parks
• Several yards of dangerous debris were removed from trails and playgrounds
• Volunteers also helped to rechip trails, restore and stain park benches and picnic tables, scrape down the Neptune Park pavilion, remove graffiti and more
• A total of more than 500 volunteer hours of service were committed to the city of New Rochelle“Our parks and natural resources are utilized all year long and have been especially valuable during the dark months of the pandemic,” said Bill Zimmermann, Parks and Recreation commissioner. “We’re proud to see the way local New Rochelle residents were the ones to show up to support their neighborhood parks this year and lead these clean-up efforts.  Creating that connection of responsibility to where you live and the public spaces you use was one of goals of expanding the scope of year’s day of service.”

The 2021 New Rochelle Parks Cleanup Day is just one of a number of volunteer opportunities showcased through Volunteer New Rochelle!, a program
partnership with Volunteer New York! which began in 2016 and offers residents year-round opportunities to support New Rochelle nonprofits and take action
locally. Details can be found on the Volunteer New Rochelle! page of Volunteer New York!’s website at volunteernewyork.com/newrochelle or by calling
948-4452. Those interested in becoming volunteers can also reach out to speak with a free volunteer placement specialist at any time.

“We’re grateful to the City of New Rochelle for valuing the role volunteerism can play to build stronger, more resilient communities, while bringing people closer.,” said Jeanette Gisbert, Volunteer New York! Executive director. “New Rochelle is an example for every city in the Hudson Valley to look to when it comes to building sustainable and meaningful volunteer engagement programs.” (Submitted)