Portland Ore. September 3, 2021 – SOLVE invites community members, business owners, and families to attend the Downtown Portland Cleanup Day’s one-year anniversary on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. This event marks the twelfth time hundreds of volunteers have come together downtown to participate in a unified litter cleanup of the Rose City. Since these monthly events began, 4,765 volunteers have removed 48,776 pounds of trash from the downtown Portland corridor. The total weight of trash collected roughly equals the weight of one and a half TriMet city buses.
The first Downtown Portland Cleanup Day took place in September of 2020. During that time, many community members were eager to send a clear signal that Portland is a strong and unified city that cares about the health and vitality of its downtown. On September 3, more than 500 community members checked in at six cleanup sites throughout Portland, received cleanup supplies, and got to work. In just three hours, more than 3,200 pounds of litter were collected. The first SOLVE Downtown Portland Cleanup Day was a huge success.
Community members continued their involvement throughout the following monthly cleanups. In the last twelve months, SOLVE has partnered with the Portland Timbers and Thorns, Transition Projects Inc., and Sunshine Division to offer more ways for volunteers to give back to the community. Through these partnerships, food, clothing, and hygiene drives were incorporated into the Downtown Portland Cleanup Day. These monthly events also allowed employees to break free from their virtual setting and connect with their coworkers safely, in-person, all the while reviving their sense of community involvement.
It became clear that SOLVE’s Downtown Portland Cleanup Day did more than just remove litter from the city; it brought volunteers together safely, promoted foot traffic downtown, and helped demonstrate the collective good that can come from working alongside one another.
On the one-year anniversary of the Downtown Portland Cleanup Day, SOLVE encourages community members to get involved once again. The Downtown Cleanup Day on Wednesday, September 15, will take place at four locations including, Waterfront Park at the Burnside Bridge, the Old Church Concert Hall, the Benson Hotel, and The Standard. All cleanup supplies will be provided, and all ages are welcome to attend. Anyone who attends the cleanup can feel good knowing they are part of the collective action to lift up the heart of Portland. Volunteers should visit solveoregon.org to learn more about each check-in location and register.
The September 15 Downtown Portland Cleanup Day is made possible through support from Northwest Credit Union Foundation, iQ Credit Union, OnPoint Community Credit Union, Rivermark Community Credit Union, Forrit Credit Union, Advantis Credit Union, Consolidated Community Credit Union, Unitus Community Credit Union, Central Willamette Credit Union, and the Portland Lodging Alliance.