Saturday's fourth annual Volunteer Clean Up Day is all about showing pride in the community, said event organizer Randy Lilly.

Volunteers will meet at the Riverfront Park on Center Street in Ironton at 9 a.m. Saturday to plant trees and flowers, pick up trash and just try to spruce up the city, he said.

"To me, this shows that people take pride in their community and care about the city," he said.

A former Ironton City councilman, Lilly said he started the volunteer effort because he wanted to get people involved and to take pride in Ironton.

The annual effort would not be possible without the help of more than 900 volunteers during the past three years.

With about 150 volunteers from the community and school groups from Ironton and St. Joseph already signed up, Lilly said he hopes to make this year's clean up one of the best ever.

And it is still not too late to sign up, Lilly said. Anyone who would like to volunteer can contact Lilly at 532-0010 or Mike Corn at 533-2676.

"Even if someone does not call, they can still show up and help out," he said. "We will accept any last-minute volunteers. There is plenty of opportunity to improve the city."

Lilly said they will work all across the city if enough people volunteer and will refresh all the areas they have worked on in the past including downtown, the riverfront and all city entrances.

Volunteers will also be planting flowers on Center Street between Third and Fourth streets, an area they had not planted in before.

Citizens, civic groups and businesses such as CSX have contributed donations totaling nearly $2,500 to help purchase the flowers and trees.

More than 500 flowers and about 10 Cleveland flowering pears are already sitting in Lilly's backyard waiting to be put in the ground. Flowers they will plant include geraniums, everblooming day lilies, flock, marigolds and a rose bush that will be planted on Railroad Street.

Lilly is also looking for groups to adopt particular areas to help maintain it over the summer and fall.

In March, Mayor Bob Cleary said the city is supportive of Lilly's efforts and that he is looking forward to volunteering once again.

"I hope a lot more citizens participate," he said. "It is the spring kick-off and absolutely makes a difference in how the city looks. It is definitely a worthwhile project for the city."