When driving through Downtown Newton last December, the streets and buildings were adorned with festive decorations throughout the area. Responsible for helping the city put its best foot forward with citizens and visitors alike by making the area so visually appealing is the Newton Beautifications Project. Not only does the organization beautify the downtown area at Christmas, but they also plant flowers throughout the area every season of the year in order to vitalize the downtown streets. The group also helps maintain the crape myrtle trees throughout town.
With a city that was low on funds back in 2020, the organization was created to solicit volunteers and funds to beautify the downtown area. Still going strong today, the organization is in need of additional helping hands in 2025.
Newton Beautification Project Director Joyce Sims said that when the organization was established four years ago, volunteers numbered in the range of fifteen to twenty people. Unfortunately, the number have dwindled.
“First and foremost, we’re grateful to all the people who have volunteered in the past and want them to know how much we appreciate them. It’s definitely understandable that over the years, a lot of us has gotten older, have grandkids and other commitments. But lately, it’s down to the point where we have around six people that are usually available,” said Sims. “So, as we embark on a new year and fresh beginnings, we’re inviting those who share the passion for making our town a beautiful and thriving hub to consider volunteering with us.”
Sims said the group’s largest projects are planting flowers for the Spring/Summer, as well as planting for Fall/Winter. The organization’s six volunteers finished up the Fall and Winter planting back in November.
“That required a lot of work because we pruned, cleaned the beds out to get them ready for fall planting in one day, and then came back and did the actual planting,” Sims said. “We followed that with putting down pine straw, provided by the city, on each of the flower beds.”
Next on the agenda for the Beautification Project is the Spring/Summer planting, usually occurring around the first of May, and their biggest fund-raising event: the Loose Caboose Festival, which requires volunteers to man the table throughout the day of the festival.
“We usually need two volunteers to work two-hour shifts at Loose Caboose in April,” said Sims. “And after the festival, we’ll follow up by doing our Spring planting. Again, we’ll have to prune back fall/winter flowers, get the beds ready and fertilize them for spring planting. And during this time, we usually have to replace some timers and water hoses.”
If you would like to volunteer with the Newton Beautification Project, you are welcomed to contact the group on their Facebook page under the same name. Potential volunteers can also contact Joyce Sims at 601-462-4123 or Co-Director Debbie Goodwin at 601-683-6224.
To donate funds to the Newton Beautification Project, donations can be mailed to the City of Newton, P.O. Box 300, Newton, MS, 39345. Funds must be earmarked to the Newton Beautification Project.
