On January 18th there was a multitude of service projects going on in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national day of service. I was able to team up with a variety of North St. Louis community members to participate in the Branch Street Clean Up.
For those of you unfamiliar with Branch Street, it is the last remaining direct connection from the northern neighborhoods of St. Louis to the Mississippi River. As an industrialized area, it is commonly neglected and tends to be a dumping ground for trash of all sorts. The clean up, sponsored by the Grace Hill Settlement House Americorps Trail Rangers, Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers HealthCorps, and Operation Brightside, invited different groups within the community to help pick up the trash and sort recyclables. With a local bike route nearby, it is our hope that restoring some of the natural beauty to the area will help attract more of the community to come to the riverfront and enjoy what the Mississippi has to offer. I was there as a representative of Confluence Greenway along with 35 other volunteers of various organizations. Our efforts have even attracted Mayor Francis Slay who was more than happy to assist us in our clean up.
The day ended with a lunch provided by United Way and a discussion on how the service project affected the volunteers. Something which impressed me in particular was the amount of young people who attended the project as well as the discussion. Seeing them volunteer and hearing them in the discussion was very inspiring. It was obvious that they felt they had made an impact on the community. Overall the day was very successful with the cleaning of the watershed as well as bringing the members of the community closer together.
(Photograph compliments of United Way of Greater St. Louis)
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