Photos by Marian Dalere
It’s been a year since volunteers have been participating in monthly cleanups of the commercial and public spaces in Glen Park and, oh, what a difference!
The first cleanup was in May 2022. Vince Yuen has built volunteer brigades all over the city through his RefuseRefuse organization, along with TogetherSF. Today, Earth Day, 19 neighborhoods are participating.
San Francisco Public Works provides supplies like bags, pickers, and vests; generous merchants donate snacks; and Tony at Critter Fritters holds down the fort as volunteers assemble before and after in front of the shop.
There’s a core group of avid stewards and an ever changing bunch of folks, some with their kids, who’ve responded to the flyers posted in the neighborhood or the notices in the Glen Park News–plus passersby who take up the spontaneous opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise, do a good deed, and meet their neighbors.
Glen Park stats: Since May 2022 upwards of 25 volunteers have shown up to each cleanup.They’ve picked up 343 bags of trash. This month 32 bags were collected, plus an office chair, a hubcap, and a trampoline.
If you’d like to join a cleanup, it’s always held on Saturdays from 10 to11:30am. The schedule for the next three months is May 20, June 17, and July 15. Critter Fritters is located at 670 Chenery Street.
