Kiwanis, Parks Unite to Spruce Up Winston Woods During 'One Day' Project

About 30 people took advantage of Saturday’s sunny skies to don work gloves and take part in the Kiwanis Club of Bolingbrook & Romeoville’s annual One Day service program.

In conjunction with the , the Kiwanis hosted a clean up of .

“We had a very dedicated group who really enjoyed coming out and giving back to the environment,” said Michael Carpanzano, president of the organization. “In addition to our Kiwanians, we had a ton of just community people and residents come out.”

Other participants included middle school, high school and college students.

“Everyone had a great time,” Carpanzano said.

While some of the attendees worked on clearing the invasive garlic mustard plant that had sprouted up, others did general garbage clean up and shrub removal along the park’s paths.

“We had people helping us from (ages) 2-years-old to probably 72-years-old,” Carpanzano said. “Everyone worked together and most people brought out their families.”

The project is one of many the Kiwanis do year-round, including reading to seniors at nursing homes, participating in the Relay for Life, and the clean up of Plainfield-based Ready Set Ride, a therapeutic riding facility for children with disabilities.

Another current endeavor the Kiwanis Club of Bolingbrook & Romeoville has taken on is raising money for the Eliminate Project, a Kiwanis global campaign for children. Through the project, members are teaming up with Unicef to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.

“This is really a five year project where we have to — as an international group— raise over $110 million,” Carpanzano said.

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Bolingbrook & Romeoville plan to do their part by hosting a fundraiser from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, at , 260 S. Weber Road. During the event, 20 percent of the sales will directly benefit the Eliminate Project.

More photos of Saturday's clean up can be found on the group's Facebook page.