Volunteers Dig In Across Walnut Creek To Spruce Up The Town

They planted gardens. They pulled weeds. They painted benches. They cleaned books. They even built a disc golf course.

On Saturday, more than 1,200 people fanned out across Walnut Creek to participate in the city's Third Annual Community Service Day.

Many of the volunteers began their day by meeting at Heather Farm Park for a pancake breakfast. They then checked in on their assignments and went on their way.

Mayor Cindy Silva, who had arrived at 5:30 a.m. to help set up, said 1,216 people had signed up and she expected another 100 or so to show up on Saturday.

That's about 300 volunteers more than last year. Silva said there were 61 projects this year, more than a year ago. In addition, the organizers got the word out more efficiently this year.

"This confirms for me that Walnut Creek is truly a wonderful place," said Silva.

Some folks were at the Ygnacio Valley Library on Oak Grove Road cleaning the books, among other things.

Others were in Civic Park, sprucing up the downtown greenery and helping install a disc golf course.

Others were at schools, fixing up things there.

One of the campuses was Walnut Acres Elementary, where 60 people signed up to paint, plant flowers, weed, rake and put in a garden between the kindergarten and first grade classrooms.

Stephanie Denman, the volunteer coordinator for the project, said she was grateful for the large turnout. Denman added it felt good to see the school getting an upgrade, free of charge.

"Walnut Acres has given so much to my family, so we wanted to give back," said Denman.

Principal Colleen Dowd was also pleased.

"This is wonderful," she said. "There really helps the Walnut Acres community build the family feeling that we already have here."