Attention students: Here’s a great way to earn community service hours and develop pride in Lehigh Acres by participating in the following neighborhood beautification projects.

George Szymanski can provide additional information at 303-1337 or you can email him at szysan05@comcast.net and tell him you’re interested in helping to clean up areas in Lehigh and get credits toward community service requirements while in school.

These beautification projects are planned for Sept. 25 from 9 to 11 a.m., October 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. and again on November 13 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

These community efforts are not being conducted by the school system, but rather through the Lehigh Acres Community Initiative program which used to be the old Weed & Seed project in Lehigh.

Szymanski and others have spearheaded cleanup jobs throughout Lehigh for the past year or so and the results are noticeable.

“It’s all an effort to make Lehigh more beautiful. We have groups of people from all over Lehigh and in individual neighborhoods who come out and join us. We pick up discarded items that people have thrown out along the roadside or else blown there from other locations, Szymanski said.

“This is an excellent program for kids in Lehigh who want to put in those community service hours. And by coming out with us for a couple of hours, they can make a real different in Lehigh. We think it helps to make us all more proud of our community when we perform these cleanups,” Szymanski said.

He said you may see a flier distributed in your schools concerning this project, too. School principals may distribute fliers at their discretion, said Martha Crotty, coordinator of district operations for the School District of Lee County.

More information can also be obtained from Andrea Adams, a community coordinator with the Lehigh Acres Community Initiative and also a member of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

She can be called at 477-1485 for even more details about the program.

“We are very proud in what we are doing here in Lehigh and we know the teens who have helped us before have enjoyed themselves,” he said.

“We provide the necessary tools to do the job and we also provide refreshments during our monthly cleanups,” he said.

“You would be surprised just how much can be picked up in a two-hour period by a large group of volunteers. It sometimes can fill several dumpsters.

“Young people in school can also bring their friends to help out and make it a fun project,” Szymanski said.

He noted that the cleanups are on Saturdays and are announced usually three months ahead of time.