CONVENT — Leaders throughout St. James Parish are joining Keep St. James Parish Beautiful to participate in the third annual “Leaders Against Litter” event Friday.

Keep St. James Parish Beautiful is one of 29 Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) affiliate communities across the state selected to host this statewide “litter-thon.”

Keep Louisiana Beautiful and Volunteer Louisiana have invited hundreds of local elected officials, stakeholders, community leaders, school and church leaders and potential supporters to participate in the Leaders Against Litter event conducted in twenty-nine cities and parishes throughout the state.

On Friday, affiliates will simultaneously conduct a litter cleanup with the help of volunteer community leaders. The goal is to shed some light on the litter problem in Louisiana and to engage leaders in our efforts to make Louisiana litter-free.
Leaders Against Litter is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. at the St. James Parish Welcome Center, 1094 U.S. 61 in Gramercy. The group will travel along Louisiana 3213 between U.S. 61 and the Veterans Memorial Bridge, collecting litter using golden grabbers and wearing matching Leaders Against Litter T-shirts.

Following the cleanup, the leaders will be asked to sign a pledge to SPEAK UP and spread the word that litter is not acceptable, to PICK UP litter whenever they see it, and to STAND UP and lead the way for a litter-free Louisiana.

Later that day, Keep Louisiana Beautiful and Volunteer Louisiana, will announce the statewide results, along with numbers of pledges signed and bags of trash picked up, at a 2 p.m. press conference at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge.
The general public is encouraged to follow the example of the leaders in the St. James Parish and participate in the Great American Cleanup at 8:30 a.m. Friday at the St. James Parish Welcome Center.

For more information on the Great American Cleanup event in St. James Parish, individuals should contact Keep St. James Parish Beautiful to find out more.