FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The third annual Mayor’s Citywide Community Cleanup will kick off on Saturday in Fresno.

The citywide event will run from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer says the program is not just about making the city clean, but about raising the self-esteem of the people that call it home.

“When we live in a city that’s filled with trash, people lose their sense of pride. Beautify Fresno is all about restoring that pride in our city and doing it through volunteerism. Where people come out, take ownership of their entire city and their neighborhood,” said Mayor Dyer.

On Saturday he said over 1,200 volunteers are expected to come out to over 80 different locations around the city.

There will be four main “hubs” located at Fresno Pacific University, Manchester Center, the Mural District downtown, and Roeding Park.

“People can still register, or just come out. We generally have more people show up than sign up. And that’s exciting. We provide the gloves, the bags, the paper pickers, the vests,” said Dyer.

In 2022, volunteers picked up nearly 14,000 pounds of trash and litter from streets, parks, riverfronts, and alleyways.

Saturday, the goal is to beat that and to build on the progress that has been made already.

“It’s one of the things I’m most proud of as Mayor of this city. And the number of people that have come together since the inception of Beautify Fresno. Some 22,000 volunteers, and they’ve cleaned up over 250,000 pounds of trash.”

Residents won’t leave empty-handed for their hard work.

The first 1,500 volunteers will receive a Beautify Fresno t-shirt, as well as a ticket to the Fresno Grizzlies ‘Beautify Fresno Night’.

If baseball isn’t your thing, or if you are just in the mood to celebrate the hard work, all volunteers are invited to a celebration rally with free food trucks, music, and activities at Manchester Center from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

To sign up, or to get more information, you can click here.