Gallery+Story: El Dorado Seeks Volunteers, Earns Grant for It’s Your World project

On August 25, 28 volunteers spent several hours picking up trash alongside a far east El Paso roadway, resulting in 37 bags of trash and 57 tires. The waste will be recycled and turned into beautiful art.

The group is looking for volunteers to help keep the city litter-free. Participants will be provided safety gloves, vests, and water. Cleanup days, which start at noon, are on September 8, 15, 22 and October 20 and 27.

Individuals who would like to help, or clubs and organizations seeking to obtain community service hours, should email Candace Printz at Cprint@sisd.net

Printz recently received a $2,500 grant from the City of El Paso Museum of Cultural Affairs Department to provide workshops as part of the Its Your World project. It’s the second time in the last two years she has been given the award from the city.

Printz and her students will teach paper-making, printmaking and art projects that include recycling in the citywide workshops.

“We want to do a lot more things this year,” Printz said. “If we get more funding, we would like to buy art supplies for workshops, bring in an environmental artist from Portugal to do a mural in Downtown El Paso, host another region-wide art show, and buy a plastic grinder and extruder to repurpose plastics.”

Printz began the innovative It’s Your World clean-up project during the 2015-2016 school year.

Her effort won a national contest sponsored by Barnes & Noble. Former first daughter, Chelsea Clinton, who was involved in the contest, visited El Dorado High School to recognize the school’s efforts and came back to El Paso a year later to attend an art exhibit that resulted from the recycling art project.