DEARBORN – Community leaders
are gearing up for the second annual Southend Clean Up event, taking place this
Saturday.

Last year, city officials and
local organizations led a spring clean up event in the same neighborhood, which
saw dozens of children and volunteers turn out to pick up trash along streets
and sidewalks.

Event organizer William Ali said
Middle School and High School students from Salina Intermediate and Edsel Ford
High School will participate in this year’s cleanup.

Volunteers who haven’t
pre-registered for the event can do so on the day of the clean-up, at 9 a.m. at
Lapeer Park. Volunteers will receive refreshments and T-shirts.

The kick-off will begin at 10
a.m., with Mayor Jack O’Reilly and Dearborn Superintendent Glen Maleyko giving
a few words.

Organizers plan to split the
volunteers into eight different groups and clean up trash in the neighborhood,
which includes Salina Intermediate School, the American Moslem Society,
the Yemen American Benevolent Association (YABA) and the south side business
district in Dearborn.

Organizers from those establishments will also be heavily
involved in the cleanup. ACCESS, which has a headquarters in the neighborhood,
will also be enlisting volunteers for the event.

Also expected to participate
in the event will be Council President Susan Dabaja, Councilman Mike Sareini,
19th District Chief Judge Sam Salamey, Police Chief Ron Haddad and Fire Chief
Joseph Murray.

Ali said the purpose of the
event is to promote active measures with the community youth. He noted that the
first event left a long lasting impression on the kids in the neighborhoods.

“The whole idea of doing this
is to help promote how important it is to keep the community clean,” Ali said. “We
want our kids to take a more pro-active approach. We hope they use their
experiences to promote this attitude around their own homes and to reach out to
parents and get everybody involved.”