Setting our sights on 2007

Saipan Tribune, Monday, January 8, 2007

Beautify CNMI!'s 2007 goal: Quarter million volunteer hours
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter

Beautify CNMI! is aiming to gather a quarter million volunteer hours from all people in the Commonwealth for this year.

Angello Villagomez, an officer of Beautify CNMI!, told Saipan Tribune that their goal for 2007 is to have every single person in the Commonwealth donate four hours to environmental activities.

Villagomez said 75,000 people times four hours is a quarter million volunteer hours.

“So I am setting that as our goal from January to December. Beautify CNMI! will clock a quarterly million volunteer hours,” he said.

Villagomez disclosed their goal as their group conducted Friday their first activity of the year by partnering with the Department of Public Safety and the Kagman Community Center.

About 42 members of the Law Enforcement Explorer Program collected trash along the side of the road from Kagman Community Center down to Marine Beach.

The Explorers included the cleanup as part of their program in their three-day jamboree at the Kagman Community Center.

Villagomez said the Explorers is one of the three programs of the DPS Crime Prevention Unit.

He said Beautify CNMI! had already coordinated with Crime Prevention Unit in many activities over the last couple of months

“This is just the first one of the New Year. We painted bus stops together (before). We've done beach cleanups together. We're actually been partners with them for quite sometime,” he said.

Rep. Cinta Kaipat was also present during Friday's cleanup. Before the activity started, she urged the Explorers to be infected with the “beauty virus.”

Beautify CNMI! is a coalition of various agencies, private sector, non-profit organizations, private citizens, and visitors.

Its mission is to foster community pride through a comprehensive beautification campaign aimed at enhancing the beauty of the island environments and the people's quality life through public education on recycling, restoration, waste management, and enforcement of laws.

Sgt. James Deleon Guerrero, the new officer-in-charge of the Kagman Community Oriented Policing Section, said Friday was the third day of the camp and Saturday would be the last day.

“The idea is to give the kids something to do to keep away from trouble while they are out of schools,” Deleon Guerrero said.

He said a number of police officers came down to conduct presentation on specific DPS programs.