Operation Clean Start is the name of a new major campaign to spruce up Philadelphia’s rec centers. The city is calling on volunteers from the community to pick up brooms, paint brushes, and rakes and get to work. The goal is to beautify eight rec centers by the end of October. Professional city-employed electricians, plumbers, and carpenters will take care of the heavy-duty work. But residents can help out with small tasks like painting and sweeping. City recreation officials say Operation Clean Start is a good way to get the community involved, maximize resources with people power and finally tackle some work orders dating back as far as 2002 at some facilities. Operation Clean Start might just be the beginning for more community-powered initiatives considering the latest news that Mayor Michael Nutter will have to slash various departmental budgets to fill a $450 million spending hole. Call (215)683-3604 to find out more details and exact times for the Operation Clean Start projects. Here’s the schedule if you want to get involved:

September 23, 24, & 25: Martin Luther King Rec Center

October 11 & 12: Guerrin, Murphy, & Vare Rec Centers

October 18: Athletic, Mill Creek Park, & West Mill Creek

October 23: Rivera Rec Center

We’d like to find out if you will get involved in Operation Clean Start, or not. Do you feel Operation Clean Start lets the city off the hook for work that should have been taken care of? Or do you think residents need to give back to the community in this way?