J.L. King, Sr. Memorial Park will receive a clean up on Sunday from volunteers through Starkville In Motion's Adopt-A-Park program.
"We are trying to get local organizations, local organizations that are based near some of the city parks, to go out to parks once per month and figure out what needs to be done and do some clean up that needs to be done," Starkville in Motion treasurer Chris Ayers said. "If any maintenance or repair issues are needed, they can provide that information to us at Starkville in Motion and we will coordinate that with the city."
Ayers said 1 p.m. Sunday at J.L. King Park is the first organized clean-up scheduled for the program, and the local chapter of the NAACP is the adopting organization for this month's event.
The event was originally scheduled for Saturday, but it was moved to Sunday afternoon due to the threat of inclement weather.
"From our standpoint, we support them and coordinate with them when needed, but they are the ones doing the legwork on this project," said Gerry Logan, Interim Director of Starkville Parks and Recreation.
Ayers said the goal of the Adopt-A-Park program is for one adopting volunteer group to visit one park for clean up and minor repairs, and then report maintenance issues to the city to improve the parks in the city.
Ayers said while one group adopts a park, any volunteers are welcome to come on clean-up days to help.
Groups interested in signing up to adopt a park can fill out an online form at www.starkvilleinmotion.org
"We are trying to get one lead person for each park so we can simplify our communication for each park," Ayers said. "Once we identify the organization and who will take the lead on the park, any independent volunteers are welcome to join that group at any given park."
Once the lead person is identified, Ayers said that person can communicate between Starkville in Motion and the volunteers.
"We're excited that we have groups like this that want to step up and help," Logan said. "We could definitely use it and the volunteer support is definitely welcome."