A community clean-up is an event where local citizens come together to improve a public space. Activities include picking up trash, removing graffiti, or planting trees. These days bring the community together under a shared goal: to beautify a public space that everyone can enjoy.
Community clean-up days make the neighborhood or city a cleaner, safer place. In just a few hours, volunteers can remove signs of neglect and replace litter with new features. Whether you’re improving an abandoned park or a local garden, local clean-ups bring volunteers and members of a community closer together.
If you’re committed to making your community a better, safer place, here are a few tips to help you get started.
Ideas for Clean-up Projects
When determining what type of clean-up project to pursue in your community, think about your skills and available resources. If you’re a landscaper, you can start by pruning overgrown bushes and weeds at local parks. If you’re a skilled artist, get permission from the city to paint a new mural over unsightly graffiti. You can also partner with local community members or groups to create a greater impact on your area.
Here are a few specific places where you can host a clean-up project:
- Parks: Preserve wild habitats, address graffiti, and restore public gathering spaces like tables and benches.
- Beaches: Remove trash from the shore and prevent debris from harming local land and sea marine life.
- Forests: Remove invasive plant species and clear away fallen branches from public paths.
- Schools: Encourage students to take personal accountability in beautifying their shared educational spaces.
Clean-up days aren’t only about beautifying a local space; they can also improve satisfaction in the community itself. Restoring a public place, for example, can restore pride across the community and encourage more outdoor activities.
The Basics of Planning a Clean-up Day
You should take the time to outline the basic details of your event well in advance, and be sure to include ways that community members can help. Consider items like materials, manpower, and funding that will make your day a success.
Here are a few essential steps to planning a community clean-up day:
- Set a date: Settle on a date and time, potentially during the weekend, when volunteers might have free time to help you clean the community.
- Recruit volunteers: Contact community groups, non-profit organizations, and loved ones to help. If volunteers can’t attend on the day of the event, see if they can volunteer the use of a vehicle or other equipment.
- Plan for accessibility: Find ways for the entire community to get involved, no matter the accessibility challenges. Choose a location that’s easy to access and provide all the supplies people will need.
- Document the event: Take photos and videos on the day of the event, and encourage volunteers to do the same. Capturing special moments from your event can help you secure funding, media attention, and more volunteers for your next event.
Don’t forget to promote the event in advance. Use custom yard signs to raise awareness around your neighborhood and around the site of the event itself. Distribute details about the event — including the date, time, and how people can get involved — across social media.
Extra Tips for Ensuring a Successful Clean-up
Go all-in to create a memorable event, one that beautifies a public space and encourages everyone to get involved. Beyond basic planning and volunteer invitations, there are a few things you can do to make the event unforgettable and particularly impactful for the community.
Promote in Fun Ways
To help spread the word about your event, consider promoting it in unique ways. For example, you might get a local celebrity to endorse the event and livestream so that people who can’t attend can still watch from home.
Here are a few more fun ways to promote your community clean-up:
- Themed costume contest: Host a costume competition with prizes for best costume, most original costume, and other categories.
- Celebrate: Frame the day as a celebration of your community. Host local food vendors and spruce up the environment with streamers and custom balloons.
- Kids entertainment zone: Set up an area with child-friendly toys, crafts, and games, with chaperones to encourage parents to participate.
- Custom hashtags: Create a unique hashtag for social media use. Volunteers can post pictures using the hashtag to broaden your message and awareness.
You can also take before-and-after photos to memorialize the day’s progress. Share these photos with volunteers and use social media to share them with the world.
Make Sure Everyone Is Fed
If you’re planning an all-day event, food isn’t just a privilege; it’s a necessity. Volunteers will need nutrition to stay energized as they continue cleaning throughout the day. Sharing a meal with others is also a great way to bring the community even closer together.
Make sure to make water and basic snacks available from the start of the event. Consider using reusable water bottles to conserve plastic, with a design or logo that memorializes the day’s accomplishments.
Provide a variety of snacks, including granola bars, fruit, and nuts, to give people with allergies more options to choose from. If possible, have at least one meal option available for people with dietary restrictions. For example, have a set number of vegan and gluten-free meals available for volunteers with food sensitivities.
Particularly if you anticipate a large number of volunteers, it’s important to provide meal options that don’t break the bank. Consider organizing a picnic or potluck-style lunch, where volunteers bring a dish to share. You can also purchase food items like rice, pasta, or meat in bulk and prepare them onsite.
Give Back to Volunteers
Volunteers are the heart and soul of many community events. It’s important to recognize them for their hard work, especially if they donate their entire day to your cause.
Consider distributing custom shirts, coolies, lanyards, or sunglasses as a thank-you for their service. Beyond a physical gift, be sure to follow up with volunteers in an email or group message to emphasize their impact on the day’s success. You can also recognize individual volunteers for their efforts across social media.
Think Eco-Friendly
Every eco-friendly event should start with eco-friendly transportation. Encourage volunteers to carpool or ride public transit to your event to minimize vehicle usage. For volunteers who can do so, walking or riding a bike is a great way to further reduce your carbon footprint.
Onsite meals are also an opportunity to protect the environment, so consider using real silverware over plastic silverware, along with energy-efficient grilling equipment. This shows participants that conservation is an ongoing goal, not a one-day event. As part of your clean-up day, you can also identify local food banks where you can donate leftovers instead of throwing them away.
Provide Some Entertainment
Volunteers are likely to stay longer and work harder with the right entertainment. All you need is a set of speakers and the right playlist and you can turn a clean-up event into a party.
You can also create a lively atmosphere in your community with a live musical performance. A DJ or live band can set the tone for the day. Dance performances, jugglers, or interactive photo booths can also provide valuable entertainment during a long day of cleaning.