2nd Annual Academy Neighborhood Cleanup

The theme of our second annual neighborhood cleanup was "working together".  Over 50 people and 8 organizations were involved in every aspect of the effort, from donating supplies to carting off the garbage that we cleaned.

I'm going to provide all of the details here so that anyone trying to plan a similar event in their neighborhood can use our cleanup as a template or example. There are many ways that our cleanup could be improved upon but I feel as though, in our second year, we are making a pretty strong effort.

The cleanup was held on Saturday, April 25th, 2015. Our neighborhood cleanup was registered with Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania, which is an offshoot of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful. Once registered, any event was eligible for supplies (garbage bags, gloves, and safety vests) from Penn Dot. We simply called the Penn Dot office on upper Peach Street and they set supplies aside for us.

This year, The United Way of Erie County stepped in to supply additional bags, gloves, and vests, as well as a free Erie Seawolves ticket voucher for every volunteer. Most importantly, the United Way organized an online registration system for volunteers who wanted to join the cleanup effort. This led directly to over 30 new participants.

For our cleanup, we decided to have a "kick-off" event at 9 am. This was a good way to get everyone in the neighborhood together and build a feeling of camaraderie. We had coffee and water available for all of the volunteers. 

We also had a drop off point for all of the garbage bags. This gave everyone a meeting point for after the effort. 

All told we picked up over 25 bags of garbage and debris, and 8 plastic sandwich bags of cigarette butts.

We have many people and organizations to thank: Erie Homes for Children and Adults, United Way of Erie County, Penn Dot, Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy's Green Team and National Honor Society, the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at Gannon University, and of course The Secret Squirrel at 3025 French Street, which was the site of our launch ceremony.

We should also thank the Tom Ridge Environmental Center for accepting our bags of cigarette butts. The butts are being sent to a recycling center.

THANK YOU! Doreen Petri and the Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate
Academy Green Team. They kicked off the cleanup by taking their
message about cigarette butts to 38th Street.

THANK YOU! Zeta Beta Tau fraternity from Gannon University. 

THANK YOU! To all of our good friends at Erie Homes for Children and Adults. 

THANK YOU! EHCA for taking part. The teams from Erie Homes for Children and Adults worked to pickup trash along E. 27th Street.

THANK YOU! Another group of kids from Collegiate Academy; members of the National Honor Society. 

THANK YOU! Over half a dozen families from our neighborhood volunteered their time.

Academy Neighborhood Cleanup - Saturday, April 25th, 2015

Here is everything you need to know about our second annual cleanup.

First of all THANK YOU! Cleanups can be a thankless job so let me just say how much everyone in the neighborhood appreciates your efforts. 

When? 

Saturday, April 25th, starting at 9 am. We will work the neighborhood until 1 pm. You may work for as long or short of a time as you want, of course! You may also work any time you like, you do not have to start at 9. 

For example: Last year we had a couple of families that wanted to help later in the day. If this is what you would like to do, just email this address and someone will deliver supplies (bags, gloves, and vests) to your house. 

THE LAST GARBAGE PICK-UP will be at about 12:30 (at the pick-up spot... which has not yet been revealed) so bear this in mind while planning your day.  

Where?

At 9 am Saturday, April 25th, we will have a kick-off meeting at The Secret Squirrel, 3025 French Street, in Erie. We will have coffee brewing and everyone will get their instructions as to what blocks they should cover. You will also get your supplies: trash bags, gloves, and safety vests. You do not have to be at the kick-off. We have a few families that are going to work a little later in the day and that is absolutely fine. 

After you have collected your garbage you will take it to a site to be named later. We will reveal the super-secret site the day of the cleanup. This will prevent anyone from randomly dumping their personal garbage there.

Who? 

You! Thank you for volunteering. There are two ways to sign up.

1. You can email The Academy Neighborhood Association and let us know if there is a certain part of the neighborhood you would like to cover.

2. You can register through the United Way. Just click here. Scroll to the bottom. We have a number of people who have signed up this way. Thank you!

3. We have MANY volunteers who are signed up! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow morning!

Who else? 

Our good neighbors at Erie Homes for Children and Adults are participating this year. A group of staff and clients will be cleaning the area of East 27th Street between Holland and German Streets. Thank you to everyone at EHCA for getting involved! We are grateful for good neighbors like you.

The Green Team at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy will be conducting their regular cleanup of their adopt-a-highway on Friday, April 24th. Be sure to watch for them and drive slowly and carefully as they work along 38th Street just south of our neighborhood.  

What will we do?

We will pick-up trash and debris along the streets in our neighborhood: State Street, French, Holland, German, and Old French from East 27th to East 34th. 

We also have a couple of special projects - Baker Field and a couple of other addresses that need it.

What about cigarette butts? 

Every cleanup participant will receive a "butt bag". We are collecting all of the cigarette butts separately and donating them to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center. The folks at TREC send them to a recycling company.

How will I know where to clean?

If you have a specific area you would like to work just let organizer Bob Hand know. He has a map of areas people want to work. After those areas are claimed we will collaborate Saturday morning to make sure all the other areas are covered. 

Some guidelines:

What should I pick up? Let's be thorough. We have a large number of volunteers so we will be able to take our time and really pick up all of the little pieces of junk. Generally, If you can pick something up by taking one step off of a sidewalk and it is clearly trash, grab it! If there are bigger items let's try to bag them up and get them to the pick-up site. NEVER pick up a needle or anything that could hurt you. Just leave it - we will call the health department. 

Should I be loud? Yes! Let's let people know what is going on. A large, boisterous crowd of people that care about their neighborhood is out making it a better place to live. Let people know. 

Why am I picking up other people's trash? This is a good question. We are working to improve our neighborhood. We are also working to raise the standards and expectations for people visiting our neighborhood and for the people who live here that just don't care. Additionally, today's garbage in our neighborhood is tomorrow's garbage in Lake Erie. Lake Erie already has a large amount of plastic and other waste - this is one small step we can take to be a "part of the solution". 

Thank you: United Way of Erie County, Penn Dot, Erie Homes for Children and Adults, The Secret Squirrel, NWPA Collegiate Academy Green Team, ZBT Gannon, and Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania.  

Most of all thank you for caring. The first step to a better neighborhood is the first step you take out your front door.