River City Company’s Clean & Green volunteer day successfully brought Chattanoogans together to beautify the downtown landscape. More than 1,300 bags of trash were collected and graffiti was removed from 45 buildings and landmarks on Saturday.
“Once again, Chattanooga residents came out in full force to Clean & Green to show their community pride,” said Tiffanie Robinson, director of creative strategies at the River City Company. “It’s a pleasure to live in such an engaged city, where citizens are willing to pitch in to keep downtown beautiful. Their effort is not without reward, as a clean downtown will continue to attract visitors and support economic development in the area.”
Established in 2011, Clean & Green has continued to grow with each volunteer day. During this year’s event, 550 volunteers cleaned five districts and four neighborhoods, covering 55 blocks.
To increase the event’s impact, River City Company partnered with Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise to extend the cleanup from the downtown urban core to outlying neighborhoods, including Southside, MLK, Highland Park and Fort Wood.The downtown districts beautified included NorthShore, Riverfront, City Center, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga/MLK and Main Street. In these locations, volunteers took ownership of the city’s appearance by collecting litter and recyclables, pressure-washing sidewalks, planting trees and flowers, caring for existing vegetation and reporting vandalism.
“As a resident of the Scenic City where tourism is a top economic driver, I understand the appeal of having a picturesque downtown,” said Ryan Coulter, vice president of the Jefferson Heights Community Association and Clean & Green participant.
“Donating a few hours of my time is definitely worth the end result of being able to live and work in a place I can be proud to call home.”