How to recruit people to your cause.

How to recruit people to your cause.

One of the best ways to give back to your community is with a litter pick up campaign. Read more...

Imagine seeing dozens of volunteers working together to pick up trash on the side of the road. Most cities and nearly every state has an Adopt-A-Highway or Adopt-A-Road program that allows individuals and groups adopt a highway or a public street. These programs usually offer some supplies to help your volunteers. Cities and state program coordinators will lend your volunteers safety vests and gloves. Trash bags are always provided. The better funded programs also offer trash grabbers, hardhats, and safety glasses.  After a clean-up, inform your coordinator and the city or state will arrange to pick-up the bags of trash you left along the road. What people like is that the state or city will recognize your group with a roadside sign. Your group is then responsible for cleaning that section of road every month to once a quarter and keeping it free from litter and garbage. Using the right methods to recruit help can raise awareness of your project and get even more people involved.

Getting Help

Long before you start looking for tools and equipment, you need to know where to turn to get help for your clean up project. If you are part of a group or organization, turn to those you know for help. You can hang posters around your school, host after school meetings for those interested in helping and find other ways to recruit helpers. Depending on your budget, you might run a commercial on the radio or television. Make sure you contact the local newspapers too. Even a small amount of publicity can bring attention and raise awareness of your cause.

Seek Donations

As much as you might like the idea of seeing people you know walking the streets and picking up trash with grabbers and reachers, you shouldn't expect to pay for all the tools you need out of your own pocket. Companies that have less funds available may agree to donate reachers and other supplies.

Community Events

Make sure your litter pick up awareness campaign goes off without a hitch with several community events and meetings that you and your group host. Use these meetings to explain why you want to pick up garbage, what you need in terms of donations and how volunteers can sign up or learn more. Community meetings are a great way to recruit people who might already have grabbers and reachers that they used in similar events in the past. Hanging posters about the meetings on city streets, in community centers and other public spaces is a great way to get the attention of those who want to help.