By STEPHANIE BRUMFIELD / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – After a successful day of cleaning up the grounds of Chelsea Middle School in August, the Chelsea Middle School PTO has decided to host another clean-up day and involve the public.

The event, scheduled for 8 a.m.-noon Oct. 19, has been in the works for about three weeks now and was originally going to involve only the PTO, though it has slowly snowballed and gotten bigger and bigger, said PTO building and grounds board member Kelly Gailey.

Many others have since joined the effort, including the junior high youth group from Double Oak Mountain Community Church, the Highland Lakes Women’s Club, the CMS Booster Club, Boy Scout James Gunter, Winn Dixie and more than 50 volunteers.

“It’s just a great time to outreach and show a little pride in our school,” Gailey said. “It’s an older building, and with the cutbacks, the maintenance (crew) just can’t keep everything up. We want to get it up to speed so they can maintain it better.”

The clean-up day will be outside on the grounds and will involve edging, pulling weeds, picking up trash, spreading mulch, trimming shrubs, planting flowers and washing windows, Gailey said.

All volunteers will be provided lunch for free by Winn Dixie, she said.

Volunteers are encouraged to bring tools such as shovels and weed eaters, if they have any available, and are also encouraged to sign up at Signupgenius.com/go/60B0B45ACAD2BAA8-serve prior to the event to help provide Winn Dixie with a head count for lunch.

“It’s not mandatory, but we’re trying to be organized so we can get the most done that day,” Gailey said. “Anybody that wants to (help) can show up.”