Volunteers from Manukau and Penrose Latter-day Saint congregations and the Mangere Police Department recently joined together to improve their community.
The volunteers of all ages gathered early in the morning to clean and beautify the Mangere Peninsula Park as they trimmed bushes, picked up debris and gathered rubbish.
Several went door-to-door handing out crime prevention pamphlets on behalf of the police.
Constable Andrew Warne said, "The police are extremely grateful for the help we received from the Manukau and Penrose [Mormon] Stakes in assisting police in delivering crime prevention advice to every address within the Peninsula Park area.
"Approximately 2,000 houses were contacted and provided with prevention material with the objective of reducing victimisation and crime. The volunteers were very motivated and enthusiastic about engaging with the people of the community. Local residents have mentioned to police how nice it was seeing everyone out that day."
Constable Warne added: "The other half of the project involved a clean up of the large central reserve. Two very large piles of trash and discarded items were collected by the Auckland Council, not only being good for the environment but allowing the local residents to start taking pride in their public space. By getting it cleaned up, the local are more likely to maintain the reserve.
"It was fantastic to have those who turned up to help, assist in helping making the local community be safe and feel safe. The police look forward to working with the Church in the future on other community projects."
Stacey Onekawa, one of the organizers said, "It was awesome to be part of an event that brought together the local police and so many members of the neighbourhood, cooperating in such a positive way. It was very successful."
