Operation Brightside teams up with Places for People and the Neighborhood for an "Extreme Alley Makeover"

Online, March 31, 2010 (Newswire.com) - ST. LOUIS - Welcome to the neighborhood! As a part of Operation Brightside's (OBS) Annual Project Blitz for the City of St. Louis, OBS is teaming up with Places for People (PfP) to clean up the overgrown and debris-filled alley behind PfP's newly purchased property at 5235 Page, St. Louis, Missouri. On April 24, 2010 over 100 volunteers will come together from AmeriCorps, Metropolis, the Academy/ Sherman Park Neighborhood Association, PfP and OBS at 9:00 a.m. to bag debris and yard waste, cut back brush and "makeover" the alley.

PfP's Executive Director Francie Broderick says, "We think this is a wonderful way to get to know our neighbors, to help them know Places for People and at the same time make our contribution to the neighborhood." Following the clean-up, PfP will host the neighborhood, volunteers and supporters to a barbeque lunch.

OBS Board Member Ken Nuernberger of ND Consulting, a local commercial brokerage and real estate finance firm is helping PfP with the 5235 Page development and worked with OBS to set up the alley clean up day. "The alley has been an eyesore and an impediment to development," he explains. "By bringing these two organizations together, we are addressing a need by eliminating a safety hazard in this neighborhood."

5235 Page or "Places at Page" is currently under development. Once complete, this historic renovation will include 23 units of supported housing with additional office space for on-site staff. Prospective residents will be individuals living with mental illness who can and want to live independently, but who may need the attention and support provided by a secure facility.

Since 1972, PfP has provided individualized, high-quality and cost-effective services to adults with serious and persistent mental disorders so they can live, work, and socialize in environments of their own choosing. The agency accepts a special responsibility to serve individuals who rely on public funding and offers an array of comprehensive support services for hundreds of people living with mental illness in the St. Louis region.

"We are proud to assist Places for People in sprucing up the area around their new residence. As an organization we are committed to making St. Louis a better place to live, work and visit for everyone. This is why Operation Brightside was founded, to bring city residents together, not only to clean up, but to build strong community relationships amongst residents," noted Mary Lou Green, Executive Director of Operation Brightside.

OBS has served the St. Louis community for 28 years. Operating as the region's oldest and most comprehensive cleaning and greening nonprofit organization, OBS programs have enriched and beautified St. Louis neighborhoods by restoring, maintaining and growing the community landscape.

Project Blitz, a city-wide effort mobilizing thousands of volunteers annually to clean streets, alleys and vacant lots, is organized throughout the City during the month of April.

One of OBS' first programs was Project Greenlot, in which 13,000 vacant lots were transformed from eyesores into neighborhood green spaces. Operation Brightside cleared, graded and seeded vacant lots enabling the grass to be cut regularly throughout the growing season. Many of the vacant lots have been used in current greening programs. Neighbors Naturescaping and Growing St. Louis were originally cleared by Brightside's Greenlot program. The Greenlot initiative was completed after the city's 13,000 vacant lots were cleared and graded in 1997.

Volunteers interested in assisting with the upcoming alley clean up can contact Operation Brightside Executive Director Mary Lou Green at (314) 772-4646 or via e-mail at opbright@stlouis.missouri.org.

Companies and organizations interested in supporting the 2010 Project Blitz initiative may contact Yvette Hartsfield at (314) 772-4646 or visit the OBS site at www.operationbrightside.org.

And for more information about Places for People organization and mission, please contact Francie Broderick, Executive Director at (314) 535-5600 or visit the PfP site at www.placesforpeople.org.