On Saturday April 13, five Transition Network participants and five college students joined forces with over a thousand other volunteers to help “Cleanup Columbia”.  The participants in Transition Network — served by the agency’s Life & Work Connections program — are supported by peer mentors from Columbia College and the University of Missouri.  Participants have been learning skills necessary for successful employment this semester at Columbia College.  Peer mentors and program participants have attended community events together, extending the learning experience beyond the classroom.

LeRaun, William, Ross, Joyce and Cody volunteered at the Cleanup event.  Columbia’s Volunteer Programs staff reports that 1,117 volunteers logged 2,144 hours of service picking up 1,396 bags of trash. The group pictured below picked up trash on streets near BCFR’s main office and in the North Village neighborhood. They cleaned until noon; several went to the volunteer appreciation lunch afterward, held at Twin Lakes Recreation Area.

“It honestly just felt like a bunch of friends coming together to clean up the community,” said peer mentor Alex Hund. “It was a good day,” says L&WC’s Martha Echols, who helped coordinate the crew. “Neighbors passing by would pause to offer words of encouragement and thanks.”