Phoenixville Pride Shines During Community Clean-up Day

I’ve always known this town is filled with people who are very caring and highly motivated and last Saturday it was proven to me once again when over 30 people came to Our Town Watch table on Bridge Street to sign in for our “Community Clean-up Day.” Picking up their work gloves, safety vests and trash bags, the group set out to collect trash, sweep sidewalks and power wash the bricks in the Kiwanis Children’s Plaza.

How many times have you noticed someone tossing a cigarette butt or a piece of trash on the ground? It’s estimated that across America municipalities, business owners and property owners spend $ 11.5 billion a year just to pick up litter. Some estimates indicate that property values are reduced by 7 percent because of litter blight. Many studies have shown that litter is as much a sign of deterioration as graffiti, vacant lots and abandoned buildings.

What makes me proud of Phoenixville is that there are people willing to step in and take action; both organizations and individuals banded together to clean up our town. This event was jointly sponsored by Phoenixville Town Watch, Phoenixville Area Business Association (PABA) and The Phoenixville Green Team. Our thanks go out to Xpress Pizza for donating pizza for volunteers, Royal Bank for providing water, Philly Pretzel Factory for supplying warm pretzel snacks and True Value Hardware for giving us a discount for our tools and supplies. We also want to thank The Borough of Phoenixville for supporting our efforts with staff and equipment loan.

Our hope was to inspire people to help make our town a place where we are proud to welcome visitors, our businesses flourish and our residents can enjoy their own community. We count this first year as a great start and extend our heart-felt thanks to everyone who participated! I personally felt inspired to meet new friends and to know that so many of us care enough to get up early on a Saturday morning and hit the streets.

Ginger Murphy – Town Watch Volunteer

Phoenixville, PA