Danielle Stone/Winonan

This year, after Homecoming celebrations come to a close at Winona State University, there will be a chance for students and clubs to give back to the Winona community.

Vicki Englich, from Student Life and Development and Community Liaison, will be hosting a Post-Homecoming Cleanup.

The cleanup is a “goodwill effort to thank the community for supporting Winona State University events,” Englich said.

“I think this program specifically highlights an important message: that students should take care of and respect the community they live in whilst attending a university, because that community is their home for four years,” Laura Lake, Assistant Hall Director for Lucas Hall, said. “We are a community of learners improving our world.”

The idea for the event originally stemmed from the fact that Winona State already has large events to clean up Winona neighborhoods; including programs such as Adopt-A-Block and Spruce Up Winona.

Adopt-A-Block is a cleanup program that was started by Vicki Englich and the 2005 Student Senate President, Ryan Flynn.

At that time, Englich said, they were having a discussion about the amount of trash in the Winona neighborhoods, when Flynn came up with the idea of having students ‘adopt’ a block within the community, based off of the Adopt-A-Highway program. Instead of adopting a section, students and clubs would adopt a block within the neighborhood. Currently over 45 clubs are involved.

The other program hosted to clean up Winona neighborhood is Spruce Up Winona, which takes place every year on Earth Day.

For any individuals or clubs that are interested in participating in the Post-Homecoming Cleanup, it will take place on Sunday, Oct. 21 between 1 and 3 p.m. On the day of the cleanup, volunteers will meet downstairs Kryzsko in the Student Activities Center where they will be able to pick up the gloves and bags needed for cleaning the blocks. Clubs and groups that already have an assigned block through Adopt-A-Block will clean their block. Individual volunteers will be assigned to help out with a block. Spruce Up Winona T-shirts will be given out to helpers for the Post-Homecoming Cleanup on a first-come-first-served basis.

There will also be refreshments for volunteers to enjoy after cleaning up their assigned block.

Since it is a volunteer event, Englich said that participating in the cleanup is great for clubs that have a volunteer component or for individuals looking for volunteer opportunities.

Individuals or groups interested in participating in the Post-Homecoming Cleanup can contact Vicki Englich at [email protected].

Students who have questions or would like to learn more can send Englich an email or stop in at her office, Kryzsko Commons Room 120.

Contact Danielle at [email protected]