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Love Ceres volunteers signing up
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Love Ceres is scheduled for Saturday, April 18.

Ceres is gearing up for the fifth "Love Ceres" community service event on Saturday, April 18 and there's plenty of jobs needing workers.

Volunteers who wish to make Ceres a better place to work, live and play will be immersing themselves in different projects throughout Ceres.

The event begins with a gathering at the Ceres Community Center at 9 a.m. After welcoming introductions and a brief pep rally, the volunteers will be released to meet with their respective project leaders and get their assignments.

Some projects are kid friendly and family-oriented, while others are geared to adults only, said event coordinator Becki Barton Nicholes.

All projects conclude at 12:30 p.m.

Projects for 2015 include the following:

• Visiting residents of a convalescent and retirement home. Volunteers will encourage those who are lonely by listening, chatting with and possibly praying with residents;

• Home and yard maintenance. Approximately 40 volunteers are needed to help people in need with home and yard projects. Volunteers are asked to bring yard equipment;

• Clinton Whitmore Mansion clean-up. Volunteers are needed to help with maintenance, weed pulling and bush trimming at the Whitmore Mansion. About 30 are needed for this project and should bring yard equipment;

• Interior Whitmore Mansion Housekeeping. Volunteers are needed to clean, dust and sweep the interior of the 1903 mansion;

• Food & Toy Drive. Volunteers will walk neighborhoods collecting food items for local food banks and toys for the Children's Crisis Center;

• Prayer Team. A group will remain at the Ceres Community Center and pray for the community and those in need;

• Hope Haven West. Volunteers will help sort, clean, box and adjust wheelchairs for ultimately being shipped to various countries at the Ceres warehouse;

• Cleaning up parks and neighborhoods. Volunteers will be directed by city staff where to help clean-up, paint, or remove graffiti from city facilities, including parks;

• Serve a meal to the community. Volunteers are needed to help feed the other work volunteers with a free lunch at Ceres Community Center;

• Improve downtown Ceres. Volunteers will be needed to clean up alleys, sidewalks, and more;

• Community Baby Shower. Approximately 20 volunteers are needed to help host a baby shower for new mothers in need;

• Downtown Neighborhood Improvement. About 80 are needed to help clean up residences in the downtown area;

• Kids Carnival. Volunteers will help with games for a community children's carnival;

• River Bluff Park Lower Terrace Clean-up Beautification of the area by removing weeds, trash, brush, clearing the lecture area, and cleaning the roadway;

There are things the community may do before the event. They include these projects:

• Booties and Babies. Volunteers may donate a new baby item (bottles, diapers, clothing, etc.) to be used for a Community Baby Shower to be held at the Ceres Partnership for Healthy Children headquarters on Fourth Street;

• Suits for Success. There is a need for persons to donate new or slightly used professional clothing for used by Project YES clients;

• Books for Success. The community is asked to donate new or gently used books to be donated to local children;

• Meals on Wheels. Anyone with a heart for the hungry and homeless is being asked to donate a bag of groceries.

Everyone is encouraged to visit www.loveceres.com and sign-up for a project.

Volunteers will provide a free meal to anyone at the Serve a Meal Project at Whitmore Park located in downtown Ceres, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

This is the fifth "Love Ceres" event held since 2011.