The clouds parted just in time for the Anchorage Chamber Citywide Cleanup last weekend and Princess Tours was proud to again sponsor the youth “Super Sweepers” program.

“Super Sweepers” promotes the importance of caring for the environment and community by not littering while also encouraging kids to take the initiative in cleaning up their own schoolyards.

Princess Tours met with school coordinators to recruit their support for the program and provided them a little extra incentive – a drawing for round-trip rail service and a two-night stay at the Denali or McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. To get the students excited, Princess has donated an iPod Shuffle to be awarded to a student at each participating school.

Kids spent about four hours at more than 80 schools in Anchorage on Saturday taking pride in their schools, playgrounds and campuses by collecting litter.

Citywide Cleanup week is a tradition that encourages locals to rid the city’s roads and neighborhoods of trash. In addition to local schools, businesses, neighborhoods, churches and a number of civic groups pledge to clean specific areas of the city.

This year’s winning school will be announced at the Clean Sweep Celebration on the Delaney Park Strip on Thursday, May 6. The park strip event is free and open to the public and will feature a trash triathlon, Super Sweepers Races, live entertainment and tasty treats. Details about the event may be found on the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce website at www.AnchorageChamber.org.

Princess has been the sole sponsor of the Super Sweepers program since its inception in 2007. The program complements the company’s environmental seaside stewardship by inspiring the next generation of leaders to respect Alaska’s natural beauty.

“Seen Around Town” is a blog series that highlights some of the many ways Princess Tours gets involved in Alaska communities.