Students Clean up Allentown

This past Saturday, the 26th of October, a group of eleven high schoolers (Aidan Beecher, Anna Brown, Serena Fan, Elizabeth Goldstein, Dan Krieger, Vikki Kang, Rachel Rosenthal, Diana Stone, Aamna Soniwala, Cole Wilks, and myself) set out to clean the streets of Allentown. Equipped with gardening gloves and a box of bin liners, we met at Days Park. 

A woman found us and led us to a restaurant by the name of “Intersection Cafe”, where we found about five more people crowded around a table with coffee and more supplies. We found that most of these people were the organizers of the event or their friends. They all greeted us warmly and formed groups. One group would walk down Allen Street back towards the park, and the other group would walk towards Delaware Avenue. Each group was handed paper bags to collect glass and other recyclables while everyone else held a bin liner. And so we went. 

Although the event lasted from around 11am to 1pm, the owners of the Alley Cat Tavern were generous enough to open the doors to let us sit and enjoy some donuts and apple cider. There, we took pictures and talked about the experience. Vikki Kang and Dan Krieger both brought up the fact that it was, “…very eye opening to see just how much garbage was discarded on the sidewalks and the road…” but that, “…the ability to clean up was very rewarding.” 

Not only did the event help physically clean the roads, but it also, as Anna Brown said, “…was a really good experience to work with a community different from our own on a common goal.” Many of us, including Cole Wilks, Aidan Beecher, and Aamna Soniwala, all agreed with that statement and enjoyed being able to contribute to a clean community, all while meeting new people at the same time. 

It was very heartwarming to see people’s appreciation as well. Aidan recalled the times, “…business owners and employees came outside to thank us,” and Aamna added that it made the experience even more meaningful. 

The overall experience proves that just a group of fifteen people or so could make a change within the community and even bigger, while still having fun at the same time. To end with the words of our very own Features/East Editor, Dan Krieger, “It made me feel like I was really making a difference.” And it couldn’t be said better.