The Houston and District Chamber of Commerce will be hosting their annual pitch-in day this April.
“This will be the 60th year that the Houston & District Chamber of Commerce has organized Pitch-in for the community of Houston. Being part of pitch-in and cleaning up your community shows community pride which is very important to the chamber and the community,” said Maureen Czirfusz, executive director for the chamber.
Houston will have its pitch-in day on April 22 on Earth day.
In the past, the clean-up has often been a week-long activity to help keep the district clean and at the same time by bringing the community together to work towards improving the place they live in. This province-wide event will be held at different times during the week starting April 22. In Burns Lake, the pitch-in day is set for May 4.
“We are not having an event or a gathering. We ask that everyone respect physical distancing. We encourage existing cohorts and families to participate. Everyone must register with the Chamber prior to April 22 so we can assign an area of the community and make arrangements to deliver supplies to the group,” said Czirfusz.
In the past, several volunteer groups have participated, including the district, schools in Houston, credit union, public library, and several other businesses and individuals.
“We have had a great response from the community in the past. Every year we have consistent responses from schools, businesses, groups and individuals. Last year we did a virtual event and had small existing cohorts cleaning up their assigned areas of the community,” said the executive director.
Last year’s clean-up in Houston, which was set for April 27, had 1,000 participants registered as per the Pitch-In Canada website. Pitch-in Canada is a national not-for-profit charitable environmental organization that usually organizes the pitch-in all across the province.
This year the chamber has partnered with Tim Hortons in Houston to give away donuts to selected participants by random draw. The chamber’s first pitch-in initiative was held in 1961, the year when the chamber first started in Houston. This year on March 28, the chamber turned 60 however, due to the COVID restrictions, was unable to host any event or celebrations.
