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WILKES-BARRE — Hundreds of volunteers hit the streets Saturday armed with gloves, bags and brooms in hopes of making neighborhoods more beautiful as they participated in the Great American Cleanup.
More than 15 groups — often wearing brightly-colored safety vests — could be seen throughout the as they picked up garbage, swept rubbish off streets and more.
Shortly after 11a.m the Wilkes-Barre Worker Bees group gathered in front of Tony’s Meat Market on Grove Street and quickly began tackling trash and other debris throughout the area.
The group was organized by Mark Shaffer, who formed it to do clean-ups throughout the city regularly. The downtown resident said he began participating in the events when he ran as a city council candidate back in 2019.
“We just try to get out in the community and pick up trash,” he said of the weekly clean-ups. “Actually we picked this spot in particular because it was one of the first places we did in 2019.”
Cleaning supplies were donated to the groups by the city, with many groups focusing on cleaning at least a two block radius.
As the group began to spread out with their tools and supplies, Omar Allen helped pick up garbage with his 5 year-old son, Benjamin. A regular member of the Worker Bees Group, Allen believes it’s important to take care of your environment and set a positive example for the community’s youth.
“My primary goal is to teach my kid the responsibility of taking care of the environment,” he said, adding this his son joins him at clean-ups often. “I would say 60% of the time he plays and socializes with other kids, which is fine. At that same time he can observe us, the adults, doing the right thing.”
Allen believes having the events help bring members of the community together in a positive way while spreading the culture of cleanliness.
On the other side of the street Wilkes-Barre Township resident John Bryan was busy scooping shovelfuls of dirt and trash into a garbage bag. Bryan has been participating in city clean-ups for nearly two years now, and takes great pride in the city and its landscape.
“It’s a great event — there’s about 200 volunteers coming out today. It’s a wonderful thing to do for our city,” he said.
The Great American Cleanup is a national project that takes place annually, with thousands of events across the country. This year’s cleanup is being observed between March 20 and June 20.
Bryan feels it’s important to care for the city’s roads and walkways not just during the Great American Cleanup, but all year long. Leaving garbage in the streets welcomes crime, filth and disease, he said, while leaving a dimmer future for area youths.
“This is more important than us, knowing that these children are out here to help the community and develop it,” he said. “That is very important.”