Sun City PRIDES, Inc.
From early morning until early evening, men and women clad in orange safety vests go about the business of sweeping, raking and disposing of tons of debris that accumulates on Sun City’s 210 miles of streets, parkways and medians.
These people are some of the 300 men and women who make up the Sun City PRIDES own acronym for Proud Residents Independently Donating Essential Services.
Members of the all-volunteer work force water, feed and trim trees and shrubs. Still others maintain the county’s 26 miles of watering system as well as the 11 miles of drainage ditches.
The PRIDES certainly live up to their motto of “Keeping Sun City Beautiful.” The non-profit corporation was organized in 1980 when the Del Webb Corporation turned over the responsibility of maintaining Sun City’s streets, medians and parkways to Maricopa County.
For over three decades the PRIDES have been extraordinarily successful in achieving their dual purpose of maintaining the beauty of Sun City while lessening the financial burden on government. Maricopa County officials estimate that the 62,000 hours of volunteer work performed each year by the PRIDES has a value of more than $500,000 annually.
The PRIDES depend on donations from citizens, clubs and businesses to provide funds for tools, bubblers and timer supplies, fertilizer and tree and shrub replacements.
Maricopa County supplies safety vests, plastic trash bags, paint for trees, herbicides and other material and supplies.
The PRIDES can be contacted at 623-972-6558; or at P. O. Box 1463, Sun City AZ 85372.
Their website is www.suncityprides.org.
