Community invited to come together to clean up Darlington
The Kalmia Garden Study Club and the City of Darlington will team up with the community for a Community Clean Up Day in advance of the spring and summer tourist season. Meet at the Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce on the Public Square between 8 a.m. and noon on Saturday, April 22. Planned activities include trimming, weeding, planting, cleaning, and more at the Public Square, Liberty Lane, and the public parking lots behind C’Boans and at the News & Press.
Everyone is invited to participate. Bring work gloves and other tools if you have them. Specific needs include weed eaters, trimmers, brooms, shovels, leaf blowers, hedge clippers, etc.
Additionally, if you have an idea for a project or simply want to bring your civic club or church group to help, please contact the Planning Department at 843-398-4000 x 103 or darlingtonplanner@gmail.com. If you are proposing a project, you can submit the idea, supplies needed, and number of volunteers you plan to bring by Monday, April 17, or attend the Beautification Board meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, at City Hall.
Participants are asked to post photos of the work using the hashtag #DarlingtonPride, so everyone can see the collective hard work being put back into our community.
Darlington native, Laura Burns, organizer of the event and a member of the garden club, said the club started with the idea of an annual clean up day on the Public Square nearly five years ago.
“A city needs an involved citizenry to survive and to thrive, and I am glad to see so many people stepping up to help make our community a better place,” said Lisa Chalian-Rock, planning director for the city.
The event has grown to include two events each year (spring and fall) with several groups joining the campaign. The Kalmia Garden Study Club, the Darlington Kiwanis Club, the Darlington Fire Department, the Boy Scouts, the Darlington Lions Club, the Darlington High School Key Club, and geocachers from Darlington, Florence, Hartsville, and Fayetteville, N.C., all have pitched in during the event over the years.
This year, the Darlington Kiwanis Club will focus on the courthouse grounds.
“It is wonderful to see so many people come together for our town,” Burns said.
The Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce will serve as the headquarters during the event. The Kalmia Garden Study Club coordinates the Clean Up Day efforts.
If you are unable to attend the Community Clean Up Day at the Public Square this Saturday, you are encouraged to pitch in to clean up your street or neighborhood the following Saturday, April 29, as the City participates in the Great American Clean Up. Register and receive trash bags and shirts at the Street Department, 536 W. Broad St., beginning at 8 a.m. that morning.