View From the Legislature

The annual Pick Up and Walk was held last weekend and once again Steinbach has received a spring cleaning. While it is an event that kicks off a summer of hundreds of community events, the Pick Up and Walk is really unique in so many ways.

Started as a way to help clean up garbage from ditches and boulevards that accumulated over the winter, the Pick Up and Walk has accomplished that goal with flying colours. It is impossible not to see the difference that the efforts of the volunteers make. And it truly is a volunteer driven exercise. This year, 2250 people volunteered, a record number. Those volunteers came from Steinbach and from other communities throughout the region.

In total, this year that army of volunteers collected 9.51 tons of garbage from the community. It is estimated that this saved the City, and by extension the taxpayers, approximately $80,000. And while that is significant, saving money was never the primary goal of this community event.

Event organizer Grace Hiebert works with some 20 churches and other local groups to gather the volunteers for the Pick Up and Walk. Those volunteers are then supported by the City of Steinbach staff, volunteer coordinators, food preparers and a myriad of other individuals helping to pull off such a large event.

The many churches that participate in the day is a very visible and tangible expression of the support the faith based community provides to our region. Often we hear about international missions and global projects and while those are very important, the combined effort of faith leaders has a very local impact as well. Most often these contributions are not always seen and difficult to measure. Compassionate and caring support for individuals dealing with difficult life circumstances usually happens without much public knowledge but provides both a significant personal impact as well as a broader societal one. The cumulative effort of the faith community to support those in need in a local community is impossible to measure but also impossible to ignore.

The Pick Up and Walk then not only helps to beautify our community and save on some financial resources, it is a very public expression of love and kindness from those who are volunteering, coordinating and in other ways supporting the event.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in this years annual Pick Up and Walk. Your efforts have continued to help make Steinbach and the southeast one of the very best places to live, not just because of its cleanliness, but because it is home to people who care about their neighbors and each other.