SALISBURY — The city of Salisbury is seeking volunteers to assist with its annual BlockWork program on Oct. 26, which aims to build cleaner and safer neighborhoods through a one-day intensive workday.

Volunteers of all skills and abilities can apply by visiting www.salisburync.gov/BlockWork and filling out an online form or by emailing blockwork@salisburync.gov and requesting a physical copy of the form. Volunteers can sign up for as many two-hour time slots as meets their personal schedule, and will receive a T-shirt, gloves, meals, snacks and drinks. Volunteers must sign up before Oct. 18 in order to reserve a T-shirt.

This year’s event, set on “Make a Difference Day,” centers around the 1100 and 1200 blocks of West Horah Street.

BlockWork is a grassroots program developed in 2010 by the Community Appearance Commission’s Neighborhood Leaders Alliance. The event strives to bring residents and community volunteers together to build cleaner and safer neighborhoods. Projects include carpentry, painting, landscaping and general clean-up in a one-block area. Long-term maintenance responsibility is assumed by block property owners, residents and neighborhood participants.

According to the BlockWork website, the idea for the program came from the “broken windows” theory, which stated that visible signs of disorder, damage or crime would contribute to more occurrences of serious crime. The event was intended to inspire pride and catalyze change in neighborhoods that suffered from disinvestment.

This will be the 14th-annual iteration of the event. Last year’s version of BlockWork focused on the 200 and 300 blocks of Lloyd Street and past programs have also featured South Ellis Street, South Clay Street and North Lee Street.