Looking at Riverfront Park Thursday afternoon, it was hard to tell that a windstorm had swept through the park only the day before.
Thanks to volunteers who spent the day raking leaves, trimming bushes and picking up trash, the park looked much better— and it was only noon.
IGS took on the project last year, inspiring other people in the area to help out.
Tom Payne, an IGS employee, said that six organizations had been working to clean up the park.
IGS, an energy company based in Dublin, Ohio, dedicates a day in the second week of March as a “Day of Impact,” where the more than 700 employees in the company take action to help their communities across the U.S. The office in Niles has three employees including Payne.
Payne said their goal was to clean from the Broadway Bridge down to the play equipment behind Wonderland Cinema.
Bulging black trash bags could be spotted along the sidewalk around the park. Payne guessed that they would be collecting approximately 50 trash bags worth of garbage by the end of the day.
“We are getting a lot done,” Payne said.
Payne said it did not take any convincing to get people to help out.
“It is exciting obviously to see other people have the same type of attitude that I have and other people have about the park,” Payne said. “You know it is a beautiful … I think it is kind of the centerpiece of Niles.”
Helping out on Thursday were seven students from Cedar Lane Alternative High School.
Principal John Fonash said class had actually been cancelled due to power outages on Thursday, but students still wanted to help.
Fonash said the school emphasizes service learning.
“I am really proud of them for what they are doing,” Fonash said. “They like working together. It is a good sense of helping the community. It is probably something we will try to do every year.”
Cristian Arana, a senior at the school helped rake the grass.
Arana said that he comes to the park on occasion and wanted the chance to help out the community.
“We live around here,” he said. “You got to take care of Niles.”
It did not take much to spot how volunteers had improved the park. In addition to picking up debris and trash, volunteers working near the veterans memorial by the Main Street Bridge had helped to clear the sidewalks that had been partially overgrown by bushes.
“Everyone is working really hard,” Payne said.