Over one hundred volunteers gathered this past Saturday, February 9th in the Northwest area of the City of Homestead for the first Northwest Homestead Clean-Up Day. The successful event was organized by Councilman Stephen R. Shelley in an effort to beautify the area and bring awareness to keeping the city clean.
“We had many groups and individuals come together for a day of being active outside and cleaning our streets and parks together. It was very inspiring and everyone had a great deal of fun,” said Councilman Shelley, who wants to make this an annual event. “The Northwest Clean-Up Day brought the community together for a great cause that helps us live in a clean beautiful environment and hopefully will inspire many to keep our streets free of garbage.”
Over 30 young volunteers from the Charter School at Waterstone helped with the cleaning as well as groups from Homestead Job Corps, Girl Scout Troop 138, South Dade Senior High, Le Jardin Community Center Inc. and Miami Bridge Youth Services. Councilwoman Patricia Fairclough-McCormick also volunteered throughout the day filling up many garbage bags. First United Methodist Christian School and Buy A Tree/Save A Life, both of which sponsored part of the event, also sent many volunteers to clean up the streets of the Northwest area of Homestead.
The activity started at 10 am at the William “Bill” Dickinson Community Center where volunteers met to pick up their cleaning tools and listen to directions and learn the route of the clean-up. Breakfast for all volunteers was donated by Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts. Sedano’s Supermarket donated water bottles. At noon, after the streets and green areas of the Homestead Northwest area were looking spotless, volunteers headed back to the community center to enjoy a delicious lunch sponsored by The Big Cheese, Broadway Subs, McDonald’s, and Sonic Drive-In. The Homestead Police Explorers also helped with the cleaning and logistics of the activity. Other volunteers included Bonnie King-Moran, who photographed the event, and City of Homestead Public Works employee Sherry Ader who arrived early with her son to help register all the participants.
“We filled about 250 garbage bags!” said Councilman Shelley. “The Northwestern Clean-Up Day event was a successful example of how we can get the community together to volunteer and in one morning make a big difference for the environment and for our lives.”
