It is said that good things come to those who wait.
Serenity Whitelow, 11, has been waiting almost two weeks to complete her dream of conducting a community cleanup in the Crosby Park Elementary School area. The event, originally scheduled for April 26, was postponed due to torrential flooding. With sunny skies and temperatures forecast near 80 degrees, the event has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 10.
The Crosby Park fifth grader planned the cleanup after winning the Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Day essay contest for elementary school students with the theme “Serving our Planet Through Environmental Action”. The thesis of her essay was “ taking care of our planet is one of the most important ways to serve our community.”
“It’s a way I can change our community. The outside is dirty,” Whitelow said in a previous interview. “Maybe we can clean up around local parks. The meeting spot is here. Then we will go to local parks and clean up and into neighborhoods.”
Once word got out about her project, others began volunteering, including Cam Hunyh, inspector with the City of Lawton, who offered to round up some volunteers and to haul off the trash.
Volunteers are asked to meet at the school at 9 a.m. Saturday and to bring gloves, water and safety vests. If volunteers don’t have safety vests, they are asked to dress in bright colors and to dress appropriate for the weather. Trash bags will be provided, but volunteers may bring their own.
“We have one Earth and we need to treat it the right way,” Whitelow said of why the project is important to her.