This year’s cleanup is getting a makeover.
Previously called the Hunger Cleanup, the newly named Creighton Cleanup will take place this Saturday.
The event will kick off with opening ceremonies in the Kiewit Fitness Center at 10 a.m. and will last until about 2 p.m.
It is an annual event sponsored by the Inter Residence Hall Government. About 42 teams with 285 participants will travel to service sites throughout the city.
Students will be working with the Salvation Army, the Madonna School, Assumption Guadalupe Catholic School, Boys & Girls Clubs and other community partners.
Organizers changed the name of the event after deciding to branch away from the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.
Previously, 50 percent of the funds raised went to the national organization. Now, 100 percent of the funds are kept local.
“We have more control over what we do with the money,” said Ellen Stryker, Arts & Sciences senior and vice president of Service, Faith and Justice for IRHG. “Also, in the past, it hasn’t been as structured.”
This year, participants may receive prizes for fundraising and can choose what organizations receive the money.
“Each person can choose something that touches them, and they know where the money is going and what it’s going to be used for,” Stryker said.
Ten local organizations will receive money from the event. Nine are IRHG hall community partners and the other is the Salvation Army.
“We feel confidently that the Salvation Army will benefit greatly because we are going to keep it local,” said Michele Shearer, volunteer and events coordinator for the Salvation Army.
Five teams will be painting three murals inside cabins at the Salvation Army Gene Eppley Camp.
The theme of the murals is “in the beginning” from Genesis, said Major Dawn Heatwole, the camp’s administrator.
“Most of our kids are poor and come from a difficult home life, so they don’t have a lot of color in their lives,” Heatwole said. “Their worlds are really gray. This is a chance for them to have something else.”
Kelsey Dawson, Arts & Sciences sophomore, is acting as a team leader for Alpha Psi Omega, the theater fraternity. The group has raised $200 through concessions from the production “West Side Story.”
“I think it’s important for student organizations to participate,” Dawson said. “It’s our community because we’re living here and we should all take part in helping.”
Last year, the event raised $6,500. About $1,400 came from online donations and $5,100 from campus donations.
Although Creighton was one of the top fundraising campuses last year, Stryker said the event is more than about the funds donated.
“Your time is just as valuable as your money,” she said. “It’s a great way to get involved with your friends.”
Lesleigh Ailts, first-year pharmacy student, is also focusing on the experience of the event. This is her third year participating and her first time acting as team leader.
“The first year I did it, we worked on an elderly woman’s home,” she said. “It was really neat meeting her and talking with her, and letting her share her life story. Just knowing that you’re making it better for the people who you’re helping is special.”