Neighborhood cleanliness is a major focus in Scarritt’s Quality of Life Plan, and these cleanups are one of their strategies to address the problem.  While the event was on a larger-scale than usual, a smaller group of Scarritt residents meets each third Saturday to pick up trash in the neighborhood for their Adopt-a-Street program. For this Saturday, though, and for the first time, two dumpsters were brought in and several residents came with their trucks to haul off the bigger items. 

“The goal of this event was to support the Scarritt residents in their monthly cleanup efforts, to have a visible impact, and to show the neighborhood that people care, said Erika Norguera the Community Organizer responsible for planning the event. She believes the trash problem in large part is due to apathy. "We are trying to plant seeds of social responsibility.”  A grant from the Citi Foundation helps fund Erika's position and supports her efforts to get residents more engaged in the neighborhood.

In addition to local residents, members of the Greater Kansas City LISC Local Advisory Board also participated in the cleanup. Lynn Craghead, Senior Vice President of US Bancorp and Board Chair was enthusiastic about the event's success and her participation: “It was great. I felt useful, I felt involved, it was insightful, and it was nice to see the residents appreciate what LISC is doing.”