MESA, Ariz. — The City of Mesa showed its appreciation for local volunteers by planting trees in their honor on Wednesday.
Mesa’s celebration recognized 6,498 volunteers who gave more than 104,000 hours of their time to make Mesa a better place in 2022.
Five new trees were planted in Emerald Park at the event which is part of National Volunteer Week.
“We are so fortunate to have many generous, caring people who want to give back to our community through volunteerism,” said Mayor John Giles. “We appreciate the contributions of the thousands of volunteers who share their time and talents with the City of Mesa.”
Volunteers performed a variety of tasks to improve the city.
Some worked with Neighbors Helping Neighbors. The group helps those in the community struggling to keep their yards clean, safe and code-compliant due to physical or financial limitations.
Other volunteers helped out at the library shelving books and doing other necessary functions.
They also volunteered at the Mesa Arts Center along with many other locations helping the community.
"I feel so fortunate to live in a community like Mesa that has literally thousands of people that are willing to volunteer to be in public service," said Giles. "Our city employees do a great job but they are just not enough to meet to meet the needs in our communities, so the volunteerism really fills that gap."
The City hopes to plant a million trees by 2050 as part of the "Trees are Cool" initiative. It aims to increase shade across Mesa, along with lowering the urban heat island effect in neighborhoods and cool communities during the hot summer months.
You can be a part of the city's "Trees are Cool" mission by planting a tree on your property and letting the city know.
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