On Saturday, April 23rd, Exeter Job Corps students & staff participated in an Earth Day event to help their local community. Students worked with a local organization, Ministerial Road Preservation Association to clean up a local scenic road with other members of the extended community. Students were very excited to show their commitment to addressing the needs of their community and its citizens. Ministerial Road connects a local highway to a Route 138, where the University of Rhode Island is located, and this highly trafficked road is covered in litter. Every Earth Day, community members come together to clean the road and bring it back to its original beauty.
The Ministerial Road Preservation Association (MRPA), a statewide grassroots citizens group was formed in 1991 to address concerns about the road and fought to have it declared a scenic road. Ministerial Road was declared a scenic road in 1993 and since then this yearly cleanup has been very important in road maintenance. To prepare for the cleanup, student help with promoting the event, making and hanging posters and working with MRPA leaders to contact various local officials. The combined efforts of the EJCA students, MRPA, the South Kingstown Police Department, the South Kingstown Parks and Recreation Department, and local homeowners and community members led to over 50 thirty-gallon bags of garbage being collected and disposed of. The student really enjoyed getting out into the community and seeing what a difference their hard work made. They are looking forward to organizing more preservation-inspired events in the future!