"Keep Milwaukee beautiful:" Volunteers clean up parks as part of Milwaukee Day celebration
“Keep Milwaukee beautiful:” Volunteers clean up parks as part of Milwaukee Day celebration
"Keep Milwaukee beautiful:" Volunteers clean up parks as part of Milwaukee Day celebration
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Leading by example. Volunteers are hoping to transform Milwaukee, and they're doing it one park at at time. These volunteers are hopeful their work will inspire others, and it was work done in celebration of our city.
On a beautiful, sunny spring morning, volunteers at Washington Park said they want to see the land look just as picturesque.
"Just out here trying to clean up the neighborhood," Milwaukee County Supervisor Martin Weddle said.
Weddle traded his suit and tie for gloves and a garbage bag on Sunday, April 12th.
"You have to take pride in your neighborhood and I take pride in my neighborhood. I take pride in my district. Safe neighborhoods start with clean neighborhoods," Weddle said.
As part of "Milwaukee Day," a city-wide celebration of everything that makes Milwaukee, Weddle and several volunteers walked the park inch-by-inch helping to clean it up.
"The goal for today is to keep Milwaukee a beautiful place," Co-organizer Brent Gohde said.
The snow has melted as winter has turned to spring, and the melted snow has revealed lots of trash.
"Now that the snow is finally gone, we`re just here to pick up everything the winter left behind and get ready for summer," Gohde said.
"I ride around the community and I always see paper and stuff like that so anytime I can help to change my community I definitely jump on those opportunities," Weddle said.
Residents didn't hesitate to lend a helping hand on Sunday, but they said they hope their hard work wasn't done in vain.
"It`s a great feeling to see it get accomplished -- but then to come back the next day and see more paper, you`re hoping that it changes the way people think about and see the park and green space and their communities," Weddle said.
Co-organizer Brent Gohde said he hopes Sunday's actions inspire continued transformation.
"Hopefully it impacts the community by getting the volunteers out, getting the people in the habit of coming out and having some investment in the neighborhood and just excited about making Milwaukee a better place," Gohde said.
Cleanups like this took place at five parks in the Milwaukee area Sunday -- Washington Park, Mitchell Park, Harambee, Walker's Point, Menomonee Valley.
Milwaukee Day is Tuesday, April 14th.