The C&O Canal Pride Days event in Great Falls brought out 130 volunteers, all eager to help revitalize the area just in time for the warmer months聽ahead.
Now in it鈥檚 12th year, Saturday’s event was the largest volunteer effort put on by the C&O聽Canal Trust.
Volunteers spent the morning working on projects ranging from聽beautifying the picnic area to painting and picking up trash.
Among them was Hannah Debelius. She grew up visiting the canal with family聽and has been volunteering for Pride Day since 2014.
鈥淚t鈥檚 such a wonderful聽resource for this community and this area and the trust does such a great聽job being a partner and a steward,鈥� said Debelius.
Eddie Rives also volunteered Saturday and has been visiting the canal聽since he was in high school.
鈥淚鈥檓 no longer working for a living so I have聽a lot of time on my hands, I鈥檓 going to be painting,鈥� Rives said.
It鈥檚 an event Heidi Schalg, director of marketing and communications with聽the C&O Canal Trust, says is a major help for the park staff. This year,聽the trust also met its goal of 130 volunteers six weeks before the event, a聽reminder of how much the community cares about preserving the park鈥檚聽history.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 do it without the support of the community. These are聽the types of events that allow folks to come out and show their love for聽the park,鈥� Schlag said.
