“What we have found, from Wednesday to the 17 (with the exception of Mother’s Day), people from all different neighborhoods are coming out to not only clean up their neighborhoods, but the other 16,” she said.
All 17 neighborhoods will see people clean up for an hour starting at 5 p.m., or 1700 hours. May 1 kicks off the spring clean up with two neighborhoods seeing volunteers (to make up for skipping Mother’s Day). People from young kids to senior adults participate, and a handful of people will be at every cleanup, Bange said.
“It’s a unique way to get people together at the end of the work day, and we tell people, ‘If you can come for only 17 minutes, that’s great. If you can come for an hour, come,’” she said.
There’s no signup for Spring Clean the 17, said Bange. Just show up. Promotions and locations are listed on Facebook and other social platforms, and anywhere from 10 to 20 people can be at a cleanup. Bange said participation has grown over the years, but no matter how many attend, “it’s so much fun. It’s a great time to get out from 5 to 6 p.m., whether it’s in the rain or in the cold.”
17Strong Advisory Board Chair Kathleen Klink said this event also turns strangers into friends.
“We have volunteers from the neighborhood, we have 17Strong board members, we just have interested citizens,” she said. “It brings together to be able to say, ‘It’s kind of fun to work side by side with someone you don’t know, and now I have a brand new friend.’”
While people want a clean city, it’s about sharing experiences among neighbors and Hamiltonians.
“It’s all about sharing experiences that puts us at another level,” Klink said. “We do this in the spirit of celebrating. We’re celebrating a neighborhood, we’re celebrating our residents, we’re celebrating people who come together to support each other. That’s an important part of all of this.”
SPRING CLEAN THE 17
All hour-long cleanups start at 5 p.m., or 1700 hours, and people can stay for 17 minutes or the whole hour. May 1 has two neighborhoods that will see cleanup efforts as Mother’s Day will be skipped.
May 1: Downtown and German Village (meet at Rotary Park)
May 2: Millikin (meet at Millikin Woods Park)
May 3: Highland (meet at 346 Marcia Ave.)
May 4: Washington (meet at 708 Gordon Smith Blvd.)
May 5: Enterprise Park (meet at 3251 Sycamore Woods Lane)
May 6: Lindenwald (meet at 2301 Pleasant Ave.)
May 7: East End (meet at 2020 Grand Blvd.)
May 8: Taft Place/Gov. Hill (meet at 301 Thomas Blvd).
May 9: Riverview (meet at 721 S. Second St.)
May 10: Rossville (meet at 206 S. D St.)
May 11: New London (meet at 1094 Southern Hills)
May 13: Prospect Hill (meet at Sutherland Park)
May 14: North End (meet at Moser Park)
May 15: Jefferson (meet at Jefferson Park)
May 16: Armondale (meet at 1093 Western Ave.)
May 17: Dayton Lane (meet at 643 Dayton St.)
START YOUR OWN COMMUNITY CLEANUP
The Cube is Hamilton’s all-in-one neighborhood clean-up package, stocked with everything needed to host a clean-up event in a public area within city limits. While this is not for personal or private property, it can be requested by any resident of Hamilton, as long as you have a group of at least 6 to 8 people.
Visit www.17stronghamilton.org/the-cube-form to reserve The Cube at no cost.
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