Released November 6, 2003

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STAFF COUNCIL INVITES VOLUNTEERS TO SPRUCE UP CAMPUSES

HATTIESBURG - The University of Southern Mississippi Staff Council is spearheading a campuswide community service project to help celebrate America Recycles Day.

"Polish Your Piece of the Rock" is set for Friday, Nov. 7. Staff, students, and faculty volunteers will work on projects such as mulching, painting bike racks and sign posts, recycling, trimming rose bushes, and labeling storm drains in an effort to do something positive for the campus and give back to the university.

The Gulf Coast campus will be coordinating projects as well.

"'Polish Your Piece of the Rock' is an excellent opportunity to get people together with others they might not otherwise meet in projects that will help make our already beautiful campus even nicer," Staff Council President-Elect Virginia Kittrell said. "People will be uniting together for a common cause and for the enhancement of our campuses.

"The goal of this project is get everyone involved in a united effort to do something great for the place in which we devote a great deal of time, effort, and energy. We want it to be a joint effort between staff, faculty, and students. We want it to be a very positive, giving experience and maybe it will help people," said Kittrell, who serves as manager of Work Control and Environmental Services at the Physical Plant in Hattiesburg.

"Polish Your Piece of the Rock" will be held from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and from 1-3 p.m. For more information and to sign up to volunteer, call Staff Council President Kenton McNeese at 266-5433 or e-mail him at kenton.mcneese@usm.edu. To volunteer for the Coast effort, contact Robin Johnson at 214-3301.

America Recycles Day (ARD) is a national all-volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that sponsors this annual campaign with the goal of educating and encouraging Americans to recycle and buy recycled products. Since its inception seven years ago, the ARD campaign has grown substantially in participation and now encourages recycling activities throughout the United States and several territories. Visit the Web site for more information www.americarecyclesday.org.

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