April 5, 2005

Boiler Blast to beautify Greater Lafayette community

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University students, faculty and staff will once again take to the streets and parks of the Greater Lafayette area Saturday (April 9) for the second annual Boiler Blast community beautification project.

The event will take place between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the Memorial Mall. Participants then will be divided into groups and sent to work at various area locations.

Boiler Blast drew nearly 600 volunteers from the Purdue community in 2004.

"Last year's Boiler Blast was a huge success, particularly considering that it was the first year for the event, and we want to draw even more people this year," said Kimberly Martin, assistant dean of students for community engagement and involvement. "We want to show the people of the Greater Lafayette area how much we at Purdue appreciate them. This is an opportunity to make a difference in our surrounding community."

Boiler Blast volunteers will show their appreciation through their labor, including landscaping, cleaning and making other visible improvements to areas both on campus and off. Among the areas that will be beautified this year are Tapawingo Park, Chauncey Village, the West Lafayette Levee Plaza area, Pickett Park Path project sites and the Purdue campus.

Volunteers also will assist individual area homeowners in beautification projects on their homes and surrounding property.

The Boiler Volunteer Network is the major sponsor of Boiler Blast.

Writer: Aaron Martin, (765) 496-3133, martinac@purdue.edu

Source: Kimberly Martin, (765) 496-2450, klmartin@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Media are welcome at the event. To make arrangements, contact Kimberly Martin, assistant dean of students for community engagement and involvement, at (765) 496-2450, klmartin@purdue.edu.

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