2008 Litter Bit Better Coverage in Chamber Advantage Magazine

 

A Litter Bit Better was featured in the April issue of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce’s Advantage member magazine. 

The below article was written by Brian Olson, the Communications Director at the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce. The cover photo was taken with A Litter Bit Better Steering Committee members by Lower Photography and Studio.

Member Spotlight: Help Make Rochester a Litter Bit Better

Early last year, two citizens came to Mayor Ardell Brede with the idea of building a “trash mountain.” They were interested in getting community members involved in a city-wide litter clean-up effort. Shortly thereafter, Mayor Brede brought together a team of organizations to plan and coordinate what would become aptly named, Help Make Rochester a Litter Bit Better. In April, the Litter Bit Better campaign was in full force and volunteers, 1,384 to be exact, collected more than 21,000 pounds of garbage throughout city limits.

Back track to December 2006.

“This idea can’t fail. We will leave the city better off than how we found it.” This was the thought that went through Mark St. Peter’s head on one December night after deciding there needed to be a community-wide effort to pick up trash throughout the city. St. Peter, co-owner of Rochester City Auto Glass, read a book given to him by his wife titled “Wild at Heart,” that challenged its readers to “do something bold.”

That night, St. Peter took his dog on his traditional 2-mile walk around the neighborhood and returned home with two huge bags of litter. That’s when he decided that something had to be done to clean up the community and decided to call up his good friend, Craig Weckwerth, to share his vision.

Weckwerth, Vice President at THINK Mutual Bank, was ecstatic about the idea and the two approached the Mayor and President of the Rochester Chamber John Wade. “It was a great idea,” said Mayor Brede. “Even though we have a pretty clean city, how can we do this to make it even better?” They knew who to ask for help, found equally passionate partners, and before they knew it, planning for the first annual Help Make Rochester a Litter Bit Better event was underway. “This wasn’t my idea,” says St. Peter. “God put it on my heart to do.”

And the final product was astounding – 1,384 volunteers making up 161 groups and locations resulting in 21,100 pounds of litter picked up…and all in just one week’s work. “This was a successful collaboration of government, non-profit and the business community working together for a city-wide event,” says St. Peter. “It was a grand slam out of the chute.”

“It’s also a fantastic example of grass-roots pollution prevention,” says Barb Huberty, Environmental Coordinator for the City of Rochester and chair of this year’s steering committee. “Our volunteers kept nearly 11 tons of pollution out of our waterways; their sweat equity brought us cleaner water.”

And there’s only one way to follow up a grand slam – with an encore. This year, you can Help Make Rochester a Litter Bit Better during the week of April 19-26. “We want to beat the record in 2008,” says Mayor Brede. “Every business benefits from a clean city. Together, we can eliminate litter in Rochester.”

Businesses or groups can participate by following these simple steps:

1. Pick a date during the week of April 19-26 that is convenient for you or your group.
2. Go online to www.RNeighbors.org/litterbitbetter and pick an available area on the “adoptable areas” map.
3. Use the online registration system and enter the requested information.
4. Read the instruction materials that will be sent to you after registering.
5. Get out there and pick it up!

Only public areas are shown on the adoptable area map, so if you want to collect on private property, such as your business grounds, get permission from the property owner and call 507-254-8169 and register your adoption area.