LAPLACE — Clean up, clean up. Everybody, let’s clean up.

For many, Spring is a time to clean the house. For local volunteers last week, it meant a time to clean the Parish.

Local volunteers participated Friday morning in the Leaders Against Litter clean up event on Belle Terre Boulevard in LaPlace.

St. John Communications Director Baileigh Rebowe Helm said the Leaders Against Litter clean up day was a statewide event.

“We joined the rest of the state to promote antilittering,” Helm said. “Of course we want to promote the beautification of the community but really the purpose was to lead by example.”

Representatives from local businesses and industries such as Marathon and Entergy joined neighborhood volunteers and government officials such as Parish President Natalie Robottom and Division A Councilman at Large Larry Sorapuru by grabbing gloves and trash pickers. Volunteers began at the River Region Chamber of Commerce building and worked their way to Airline Highway.

“We want to change the culture of our Parish,” Helm said. “We want to keep it clean all year long. By doing these events, we set an example for our residents showing that it takes action to keep our community clean.”

The Leaders Against Litter clean up event was a way to kick off the Parish’s beautification efforts as Parish officials are getting ready for the annual Spring Clean Sweep clean up day, which begins at 8:30 a.m. April 23. Volunteers will meet at the Thomas F. Daley Memorial Park located on U.S. 51.

“Clean Sweep is something that we do every year that involves hundreds of volunteers from schools, government agencies, churches, civic organizations, home owner associations and more,” Helm said. “We kick off by having people come and get garbage bags, gloves, trash clamps and any other tools or equipment they will need to clean up. Then we disperse them into different areas of the Parish.”

Businesses, churches or organizations that want to clean up the area around their building they may do so, as well. There are also areas around the Parish that volunteers may be assigned to if they don’t have a specific area they want to clean.

“After the clean up is over, which is around 11:30 a.m. or noon, people will return to Thomas F. Daley Park,” Helm said. “We will have refreshments, a band and celebrate the clean up efforts of the day. We encourage our residents to come out and take action in working towards making a cleaner community.”

For more information or to register, residents can call 985-652-9569 or visit sjbparish.com on the Clean Sweep page.