This past Saturday we went from this

 

 

to this

 

It took a a few hours and some dedicated help from neighbors, but we were able to round out the year with another successful clean-up.  Here's a video.

 

This year the NPCA sponsored five community clean-ups with good results:

• Nearly 20,000 pounds of trash taken off our streets (including dozens of couches and mattresses that people use to do all sorts of unsavory things)
• Spread our efforts to include everywhere from Adams up in Between Heights to Altadena and Carmel Heights in the south
• Began an effort to help re-think how we deal with illegal dumping in North Park; and
• Encouraged several dozen new neighbors to lend a hand since our first clean-up this year

Our volunteers also helped repaint the picnic tables at both local parks, with the help of Rodney and Jesus--two dedicated Parks and Recreation Center staff who provided the supplies.

A special thank you is in order for Pizzeria Luigi's (new location on El Cajon Boulevard), who helped feed the volunteers and to Einstein Bros for more bagels to get us started.  Also, the USD Law Student Outreach Committee was a huge help.

Each clean-up now takes less than four hours to organize, plus about six hours on the day of the event.  We are putting together our clean-up schedule for 2010 and would love to have even more neighbors join in.  Drop me a note or post a comment if you are interested.