HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - Hartford is encouraging its residents to show their neighborhoods some love with the city's first annual Love Hartford Week.
Community members are encouraged to take part in at least one of 24 different cleanups and beautification events throughout the week.
"This week is about everyone coming together to not just have access to [the city's] green spaces but to care for those green spaces and to demonstrate that Hartford is a city that cares about each other and cares about our places," Executive Director Patrick Doyle of KNOX Hartford said.
The city of Hartford worked with KNOX Hartford in organizing the week's events, along with United Way.
To get more people involved, Hartford's Director of Community Engagement, Janice Castle, announced a friendly competition between neighborhoods.
Neighborhood revitalization zones are encouraged to get as many residents in their community to volunteer as possible for the competition, Castle explained. The neighborhood with the most volunteers will receive a $2,500 reward for a community project.
"They can use it for, whether it's a block party, another community garden, murals, you name it," Castle said.
As of late Tuesday morning, when officials announced the launch of Love Hartford Week, over 400 volunteers were signed up for the various different events.
By the end of the week, the city hopes to reach its goal of having 1500 volunteers participate.
President Jay Williams of The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving stressed that volunteerism brings an uplifting energy to community gardens, spaces and neighborhoods.
"The conditions of our neighborhood matter. It has an effect on your mental health. It has an effect on your physical health. It has an effect on your emotional health," Williams said. "When you see green spaces and when you come into a city where people care, it makes a difference."
The Hartford Foundation partnered with the organizers to help make Love Hartford Week possible, as well as CVS Health/Aetna, Comcast/NBCUniversal and the Yard Goats Foundation.
Love Hartford Week participants are encouraged to take part in the Volunteer Appreciation Celebration to end off the week. It will be held at Dunkin Donuts Park on Saturday, October 23, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Volunteers can register for the week's events online.