Last year, nearly 700 volunteers in Mesa Council District 1 got dirty to help the community. This year, more than 1500 volunteers in Council Districts 1, 3 and 5 will participate in the second annual “Top 2 Bottom” event Saturday, Feb. 27 from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

“This is a great opportunity for residents to help ‘Build a Better Mesa’ and build pride in our community,” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said. Residents, neighborhood groups, local businesses, church groups and City of Mesa staff have volunteered for a variety of beautification and cleanup projects.

“Last year, we started Top 2 Bottom in my district and showed what a difference a few hours of work from volunteers can do,” District 1 Councilmember Dave Richins said. “Volunteers completed 16 projects totaling 2,760 hours of service. Their effort not only cleaned up blight, but it led to a projected cost savings of more than $53,000 dollars to the City.” Last year, volunteers collected 13 tons of trash, 900 nuisance signs and 60 tires. They also used 150 gallons of paint.

“This year, our volunteers will be participating in about 30 different projects including wall and bridge painting, nuisance sign sweeps, tire roundups and alley cleanups,” District 5 Councilmember Dina Higgins said. “One unique project involves Graffiti Protective Coatings, a company that is donating 10 trucks to professionally remove graffiti that leaves no traces of past vandalism.”

“We could not do this event without our partnerships with local civic groups,” District 3 Councilmember Dennis Kavanaugh said. “We have volunteers from several churches, corporations, registered neighborhoods and others who are giving up a Saturday morning to make a difference. We also have Eagle Scouts who have gathered volunteers to help with their projects.”

Volunteers will meet at 7 a.m. in the parking lot of Riverview Toyota, 2020 W. Riverview Auto Drive, where they will participate in a kickoff rally and head to their assigned service project. The rally will include brief remarks from Mayor Smith; Councilmembers Richins, Higgins and Kavanaugh; Arizona 5th District Congressman Harry Mitchell and Channel 10’s Ron Hoon, who will serve as emcee.

Top 2 Bottom has numerous sponsors, including Riverview Toyota, Wal-Mart, City of Mesa, NEDCO, West Mesa Community Development Corporation, Mesa Community College, Copper State Consulting Group, GPC, Southwest Ambulance, Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, Home Depot, Cox, SRP and Mountainside Fitness.

For more information, contact Neighborhood Services Outreach Coordinator Lindsey VerStraeten at (480) 644-5434.