Cathedral City Residents Learn How To Give Back To Community

CATHEDRAL CITY – Spring cleaning came early for Cathedral City residents when the city held its community service day.

Some brought crates of old documents to be shredded; others gave up theirweary computers.

“We just wanted to clean everything out,” says Janka Kovesdi, who donated computers and keyboards. “Start out new for the new year!”

Dough Schmidt and Benjamin Maesdas were eating separately at a nearbycafe whenMaesdas mentioned the annual event to Schmidt.

“We started talking, and I was telling him about this unbelievable deal here with the bulbs. So we walked over,” explained Maesdas.

The unbelievable deal: energy efficient light bulbs for only $1each.

Doug Schmidt decided to stock up, filling his new canvas bag with at least a half-dozen of them.

“They last longer, and at a dollar a bulb, that’s the cheapest you can find,” he said.

New this year: the “Citrus Rescue Program.” The city, in conjunction with the non-profit group Hidden Harvest, will collect the neighborhood’s extra fruit and distribute it free of charge to more than 70 local agencies.

The city will continue collecting the extrafruit until May.

Some residents sayCommunity Service Dayreally is a great idea. It encourages them to be more green.

Martin Luther King, Jr., once said: “Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

That statement now rings true as residents learned to give others a better and healthier community.