26.8.09

Making a difference

Frustrated and annoyed with the garbage and dog shit piling up in the alley behind my house, I decided to take action and host a community block clean-up this past Sunday. I was very pleased that two people actually came out to help Jack and I pick up garbage, sweep up broken glass, shovel animal waste and pull up weeds. I honestly didn't expect anyone to show up to help on a sweltering hot August morning.

Even though the army of concerned neighbors I assembled for the clean-up was relatively small, our work made a difference. Not only is our alley in much better shape than it was before, I got to meet a number of my neighbors who may not have helped with the work but did take the time to stop by and introduce themselves to me and thank me for what I was doing.

I started noticing other small changes as soon as one week after I passed out the first flier notifying my neighbors of the clean-up. That very next weekend, I witnessed one neighbor cleaning up her backyard, and the owners of the Highland Clipper Club on the corner of my block finally picked up all the cigarette butts that their patrons had tossed on the sidewalk. Then, last night when I went to bring our trashcan back into our yard, I noticed that three of my neighbors who had previously just tossed bags of garbage into the alley had actually purchased trashcans with lids and even neatly labeled them with their addresses.

If you have been following my blog for a while, you may remember me first talking about hosting a community block clean-up back in May, and you may be thinking, "Gee Mara, I thought you were a go-getter. It took you how many months to pull this together?"

The reason for the delay is that I was trying to get a grant from the City, from a local nonprofit or from an environmental group, to pay for the supplies for the clean-up. No such luck. Most organizations I contacted had no money to give, and those who did have grant programs available said my neighborhood didn't fall into the City's "target areas" (aka my neighborhood isn't ghetto enough to receive assistance).

I was however able to borrow brooms and shovels from the Highlandtown Neighborhood Association. That groups leader, Kevin Berhnard, is awesome! He helped me through the planning process and was even one of the two guys who came out for the clean-up.

The funds for the weedkiller, contractor bags, gloves and drinking water came out of my own pocket. But, you know, it was totally worth it. I am going to do one of these clean-ups every month, with our without the City's help.

14 comments:

  1. What a wonderful thing to do! Congrats on the first clean-up and hopefully it will become a trend for your neighbors.

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  2. Wow!! That is awesome. Congratulations!! I bet your neighborhood looks beautiful!!!

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  3. Bravo!
    If more people thought and acted that way, cities would be a much nicer place!

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  4. That's awesome! I wish more people would take some pride in their city in NOLA. Uptown stays fairly clean but the other areas are just trashed. I mean, we have trash cans for a reason people! Even when I've had one too many Hurricanes I can still find my way to trashcan to deposit my plastic cup before I get another!

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  5. That is so great of you. It takes not only a lot of commitment to do something like this, but also some pretty hefty balls to admit to all your neighbors that something needs done about the neighborhood. Good for you for doing so, and standing behind it. It usually takes one small step to make a huge difference. We started taking care of the woman's house next to ours, she lives in Alabama with a family member. We take care of the yard, clean her gutters, shovel snow, and make it look nice. Neighbors took notice and started to take care of their place as well. If you take pride, others will too. See why you are so amazing?!

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  6. Hip Hip for YOU! That is the greatest thing I read all day!

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  7. u know what? that is awesome. i am really happy and proud of u!
    can you take some pictures please? like before/after?

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  8. Good job lady! So often people talk about doing things, but never take action, it's nice to see some follow through.

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  9. Oh, that is awesome, lady friend. You're an inspiration! :-)

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  10. It's amazing how one little action can spin into pride and caring for so many - little thing can make a big difference. Congratulations on your success!

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  11. Thanks for all of your kind words. If I felt good about my deed before, now I feel amazing about it!

    Novelista Barista, I didn't take any before and after photos, but I should have!

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  12. This is pretty damn cool! I'm so impressed!

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  13. This is pretty damn cool! I'm so impressed!

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  14. good job mj :) you never cease to inspire me with everything you do for your city. i'm glad at least a few people showed up and i really hope the turnout is quadruple the size next time

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