2017 PUMP Kickball for a Cause Supports: Allegheny CleanWays
2017 Kickball for a Cause donations are supporting Allegheny CleanWays, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to cleaning up and eliminating illegal dumping in Allegheny County.
Meet Allegheny CleanWays
Founded in 2000, Allegheny CleanWays is dedicated to cleaning up litter and illegal dumping both on land and in the water. Since its founding, Allegheny CleanWays volunteers have removed over 3 million pounds of illegal dumping from the county.
The landside cleanup program “Dump Busters” is the most active of the Allegheny CleanWays initiatives, taking different volunteers out on a daily basis to clean up illegal dumpsites. Among its other programs, Allegheny CleanWays also cleans up the rivers in Allegheny County using its 28-foot pontoon boat. In 2017, Allegheny CleanWays did much of its cleanup work in the North Side, but they’re preparing to shift focuses over to the Homewood and Larimer areas within the next year.
Allegheny CleanWays strives to be more than just a reactive group that cleans up litter—they are striving to change the culture of Pittsburgh with regards to dumping through education, public policy changes, and through education.
“We don’t want to be cleaning up litter and illegal dumping for the rest of our lives,” says Executive Director Myrna Newman. “We want to change the system. That’s the key—there are some policies that need to be changed and there is a culture that needs to be changed and this is the hardest part.”
Why We’re Important to Young Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has come a long way to clean itself up, but there is still much work to be done. In a recent county-wide assessment of illegal dump sites, Allegheny CleanWays identified over 500 sites where illegal dumping is occurring just within Allegheny County.
Young Pittsburgh is instrumental in changing the illegal dumping culture in Pittsburgh.
“There are more young people moving to Pittsburgh wanting a robust, green, active, clean community,” says Newman. “People who have seen successes in Portland and other cities, and they are demanding a greener, cleaner city. Young people want to be involved and connected to their communities. This is a great way for these young people to get involved and make a significant, tangible difference in their neighborhoods.”
How To Get Involved
Allegheny CleanWays depends on funding to continue its mission.
“We need to see that the community supports us in a real way, and we need individuals to step up and support the work we are doing,” explains Newman. “In the last couple years, the residents of Allegheny County are really stepping up. We’ve doubled individual giving in the last year. And we want to continue this trend because what it says to us and to municipal governments and funders is that this is an important problem, and that people in the neighborhoods and communities see it as an important problem and they’re willing to back that with volunteerism and money.”
Whether you like to get your hands dirty or not, there are many ways to get involved with Allegheny CleanWays. Those who are interested people can donate, volunteer, they can serve on the board, they can participate in cleanups, and they can get involved in the numerous prevention strategies and beautification projects.
Support Allegheny CleanWays by donating to Kickball for a Cause. And you can visit their website at www.alleghenycleanways.org to learn more or to get involved.