The Inspiration
Imagine yourself getting ready for a Friday night out on the town. You’ve spent all day looking forward to going out with your friends to blow off some steam from the work week. You’ve confirmed your group’s reservation at that cool, new restaurant that that everyone’s been talking about. You’ve dressed up in your favorite fit and you’re looking good to try and impress that special someone you’ve been crushing on. And, your Uber has just pulled up out front to drop you off and get the night rolling. You and your friends hop out and the first thing you notice is the street is covered in litter; smashed plastic bottles and cans in the gutters, discarded cigarette butts filling the flower beds, and scraps of paper, plastic, and man-made garbage scattered about the sidewalks. How do you feel? Do you just brush it off as the typically dirty city life? Or, does it inspire you to make a difference for a cleaner, brighter city for everyone to enjoy?
Making a Difference
This was my actual experience coming back to Richmond after nearly a decade moving around the country. After growing up in mostly rural areas as a child, moving to Richmond for high school was kind of a culture shock. The city was still small back then relative to my future homes away from home, but it was the big city to me. My friends and I would venture downtown to hangout at Belle Isle, hit up Renegades games at the then bustling coliseum, and visit with older friends attending VCU and living around Carytown and The Fan. After graduation, I moved up to D.C. to attend George Mason, then ventured out west to San Francisco and Denver, made my way back to Charlotte, and landed back in Richmond as my family is reaching their golden years. Richmond has changed a LOT over nearly a decade being away, and as with any growing city, comes population density, more traffic and congestion, and sadly, more man-made pollution littering our streets, sidewalks, and waterways. Seeing the filth that typically covers streets of big cities like D.C., San Francisco, and Denver, I was inspired to found We Clean Our Streets to tackle the problem of litter cluttering our streets right here in Richmond. And in turn, reducing the growing amount of garbage and plastic pollution that is leeching into our waterways and eventually our oceans.
Leaving a Lasting Impression
We Clean Our Streets has one mission: bringing companies, groups, and our community together to make a positive difference in our local environment to provide a cleaner, brighter, and healthier future for generations to come. I acknowledge that just picking up litter on our roadways isn’t going to solve the problem of trash and plastic polluting our parks, rivers, and oceans. But, my vision is that doing our part to make a difference here in Richmond, keeping our streets clean from litter and man-made debris, and preventing it from washing down into our rivers and waterways, we can inspire others to do the same. Eventually, I’d love to see We Clean Our Streets grow to other cities around Virginia, then other states, and maybe one day across the county.
