A dozen people posed for a group picture March 18 outside the River Region Chamber of Commerce in LaPlace.

The small but energetic group represented St. John the Baptist Parish leaders who were kicking off the region’s spring-cleaning effort.

April has been proclaimed Keep St. John Beautiful Month and a handful of local residents got things started a couple of weeks early by picking up more than 20 bags of litter on Belle Terre Boulevard from the Chamber building to the Percy Hebert Building.

Cleaning efforts really kick into high gear next month for the Annual Spring Clean Sweep, which consists of a parishwide clean up, involving government agencies, neighborhood associations, civic groups, schools and churches.

The Spring event starts at 8:30 a.m. April 23 at the Thomas F. Daley Memorial Park, with distribution of garbage bags, gloves, trash clamps and T-shirts.

In appreciation of the volunteers and their commitment to keeping St. John beautiful, Parish Government announced free food, refreshments and music will be provided following the clean-up activities at Thomas F. Daley Memorial Park.

Those wanting to participate can sign up at sjbparish.com or call 985-652-9569.

The twice-annual parishwide clean-up events are wonderful reminders that we all benefit by taking a few moments to clean the area around our home and workplace.

The greater truth is our community would look a whole lot nicer if we all simply picked up around our home and work, taking a few moments occasionally to pick up some of the trash we see that isn’t our own.

Everyone wins when litter is eliminated in St. John the Baptist Parish.