Making a mark: Volunteers from near and far clean up Milwaukee's Washington Park

MILWAUKEE (WITI) --One of Milwaukee County's largest parks is a lot cleaner now, thanks to people from all over the country. It's the type of help Milwaukee County Parks desperately needs.

Leaves to clean up, trash to clear and trees to mulch are all sure signs of spring at Milwaukee's Washington Park, near 40th and Vliet.

There are even picnic tables to build.

And the volunteers doing the work come from all over.

"We have people from both coasts, and from north and south, east and west," said Don Schumacher, executive director of the National Association of Sports Commissions, or NASC,

The volunteers are in town for the NASC annual conference, and represent organizations like the NCAA or the U.S. Olympic Committee.

"This is an opportunity for us to leave a place better and make your mark in the world, that creates something better for everyone," said Kevin Smith, chairman of the NASC's board.

The volunteers are mulching at least a couple of hundred trees at Washington Park, and Milwaukee County Parks just doesn`t have the manpower to do all of this work in one day.  They say they heavily depend on the efforts of volunteers.

At 128.5 acres, Washington Park is one of the county's largest. There are three full-time employees who care for this park and 11 others.

"Volunteers are a critical part of what we do. Over the last ten years we have ramped up our volunteer corps immensely," said Guy Smith, director of operations for Milwaukee County Parks.

Volunteers save Milwaukee County Parks millions each year. And this group's work does not go unnoticed.

"We had people who were obviously local people, walking the lake, stop and say 'thank you for doing this', 'thank you for being out here'. That`s rewarding," said Smith.

More than 800 million people will attend the NASC Sports Event Symposium in Milwaukee. It runs through April 30th, 2015. The NASC is also trying to raise $20,000 for Running Rebels in Milwaukee, an organization that helps the city's youth.