More than fifty people attended the “Make Georgetown Village Beautiful Day” in the Georgetown Village neighborhood on Saturday, June 6.
Georgetown Village is a 267-home community along Route 1 in Woodbridge. The annual cleanup is put on by the Georgetown Village Community Council, Inc. (GVCCI) and the community’s property management company, Community Management Services (CMS). Habitat for Humanity Prince William County has supported the event for two years, leading Bank of America volunteers and neighborhood residents to accomplish a list of
beautification tasks needed in the community’s public spaces as part of its Neighborhood Revitalization program.
This year, Transurban/Fluor provided a grant for a Front Yard Beautification Contest. Twenty-five homeowners participated in the contest, each receiving a $25 gift card to start work on the exteriors of the home in April. Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi and GVCCI President, Heidi O’Hara, judged the contest on June 6 and six winners plus one honorable mention contestant each received gift cards up to $300 at an afternoon awards ceremony.
Briana Sewell, Prince William County Outreach Representative for Congressman Gerald Connolly attended the ceremony to help distribute the awards. Volunteers built benches at bus stops, repaired pot holes, painted speed bumps, picked up trash and replaced sign posts throughout the community.
O’Hara commented: “A beautiful, clean community benefits not only by raising property values but in the pride that comes with that investment of time and energy. It is truly a bonding experience for the neighborhood. We were especially happy to see how many more young people participated in this year’s event. [Habitat’s] volunteers really shine in how they take the younger ones under wing, teaching them, giving them time and attention, whether it was painting, building the new benches or putting up signs. It is the heart of the organization that truly builds those lasting impressions!”
The event started at 9 a.m. and continued until 3 p.m. To keep the volunteers going, doughnuts and coffee were donated by the Dunkin’ Donuts store in Dumfries and GVCCI and CMS provided lunch for the volunteers in the afternoon.
For more information on the Habitat for Humanity Prince William County Neighborhood Revitalization Program, visit our website at habitatpwc.org.
