13th Annual Kingston Clean Sweep Held

By Miranda Reale

KINGSTON – The 13th annual Kingston Clean Sweep took place last Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteer groups and individuals picked up litter along the “Kingston Corridor” from Uptown to Downtown Kingston. Sponsored by the Friends of Historic Kingston and the City of Kingston, with support from many local businesses, organizations, schools, churches, and individual volunteers; the morning was spent picking up litter around the city. Though the day was windy and overcast, volunteers gathered on Cedar Street to meet Bryant “Drew” Andrews, Executive Director of the Kingston Center for Creative Education (CCE).

Groups were split across different areas and projects; one portion of the morning was dedicated to cleaning up the Salvation Army yard, also located on Cedar Street. Andrews explained that the Salvation Army store is in the hopeful process of being transformed into a public park for young children in the community. “We live in a park desert, the kids don’t have access to a place that they can walk to easily and somewhere that is accessible and safe”, he said.

While volunteers were working, many residents that were off to work for the day stopped to thank those involved last Saturday. Whether they were new to the community or seasoned Kingston residents, the goal to make a noticeable difference among the city’s streets aligned with CCE’s mission to stimulate social and cultural awareness through community collaboration. More than just tidying the streets, last Saturday inspired an opportunity for volunteers to meet each other and dedicate part of their day toward the city’s health and future.

The CCE’s aim is to offer the youth of Kingston accessible and affordable educational programs. Many of the volunteers were Andrews’ own students at the CCE; bringing garden gloves, rakes, and shovels, the streets benefited from the hard work of all of those who supported last Saturday’s Clean Sweep.