Williamsport, PA – More than 400 volunteers braved the elements during The Richard James Memorial Cleanup this past Earth Week from April 22-28, 2019. Volunteers from across Williamsport joined together to beautify the community and to commemorate citizen Richard James, who was a dedicated community volunteer.

“It has been uplifting to see so many individuals step up and organize groups to clean up the litter from our environment; people owning the change they want to see in the world,” says SGP Greenway Coordinator, Alice Trowbridge. “We appreciate the support of our partners including Clinton County CleanScapes, the City, PennDOT, and Staiman’s Recycling.”

This year’s cleanup brought in over 2,000 pounds of trash—trash that will no longer clutter the streets, walkways, and open spaces of Williamsport! As a designated Susquehanna Greenway River Town, Williamsport has made a commitment to celebrate and connect to the resources of the Susquehanna River. Collecting litter around the city and riverside serves to uphold this promise and promotes a better quality of life for people living in and visiting the city.

The Susquehanna Greenway Partnership would like to thank all of the volunteers and participating organizations who helped make this weeklong initiative a success! These partners included Penn College, Lycoming College, The Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, and Heart of Williamsport (HOW) team, Larson Design Group, Newberry Community Partnership, Cleanscapes, Stevens School Neighbors, Firetree Volunteers, New Covenant UCC, Pine Street UMC, Justice Works Youth Care, the Beloved Community Council, David and Ted Craig, PA Outdoor Corps, PennDOT, Preservation Williamsport, and Staiman Recycling.

The Heart of Williamsport and Susquehanna Greenway Partnership team alone collected 280 pounds of litter in just 3 hours! Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, residents and visitors alike can feel pride in crossing the mighty Susquehanna into a city full of educational and cultural offerings, businesses, restaurants, and entertainment.

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