For years, groups have been able to lay claim to a piece of the road through "Adopt-A-Highway" programs, and now TCAT (Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit) is offering the chance to Adopt-A-Shelter/Adopt-A-Stop.

Any nonprofit, or profit-making, nonpartisan organization or group may become a sponsor of a TCAT bus stop or shelter in the area for a two-year period.

Responsibilities of the Adopt-A-Shelter/Adopt-A-Stop Program include various light maintenance activities, such as litter pickup, glass cleaning and snow removal. It's also an opportunity for groups to make their mark on the community by adding creative touches to shelters and stops with the planting and maintaining of flowers and vegetation, and other activities.

Each participating group in the program will have its own sign displayed at its shelter or stop and will be publicized and highlighted by TCAT at various times during its sponsorship.

Dwight Mengel, Tcat's service development manager, said he believes the program will be the perfect fit for an area like Ithaca.

"We just received our very first Adopt-A-Shelter application from the Jacksonville Community Association," he explained. "The response already appears to be very enthusiastic."

For more information about TCAT's Adopt-A-Shelter/Adopt-A-Stop Program, interested groups and organizations can contact Mengel at (607) 277-9388, ext. 520, or e-mail tcat@cornell.edu.