When I was a young boy, growing up at 55th and Larchwood Avenue, I remember Saturday morning clean-ups on my block during the spring and summer.
We would spend a few hours outside, washing the stoop, sweeping the walk and picking up trash. Perhaps most importantly, we talked to each other and shared stories from our week. We kept our blocks clean - but it was about much more than that. We took responsibility for where we lived, we cared about our neighborhoods and our neighbors, and by doing it together we showed respect for each other.
As I visit neighborhoods around the city, I sometimes feel like we have lost some of that basic respect for each other and for our city.
When I see a person drop trash on the street rather than place it in a trash can, I wonder what happened to that collective civic pride that I remember growing up as a boy. I think about what we can do to reclaim that sense of ownership and respect for Philadelphia - the place we are all so proud to call home.
Well let's start this process of cleaning up our city together. On Saturday April 5 we're going to have the biggest citywide cleanup in Philadelphia's history. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. I want people in neighborhoods across the city to join me in a day of service to turn Philadelphia into the beautiful place we know it can be.
With the help and leadership of our community organizations, we're going to work together in areas across this city to clean up Philadelphia - street by street, block by block and neighborhood by neighborhood.
You can volunteer to clean up right in your own neighborhood - we'll be cleaning up at Cobbs Creek Park in West Philadelphia as well as at locations throughout University City and Center City.
Please get involved. Organize a "Clean Team" with your friends, families and neighbors to clean up the areas in which you live. Visit www.PhillyCleanup.com or call 215-683-CLEAN to sign up and find information on the nearest clean-up site to you.
It's going to be a great day and all those who participate are invited to a BBQ hosted by the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field to celebrate a day of Philly solidarity. Volunteers can show their wristband at the subway turnstile and get a free ride down to the stadium on SEPTA.
Remember that April 5 is only the beginning - this is not a one-time-only event. This is the first weekend in an ongoing clean-up effort that will continue through the summer and into the fall, a campaign that we call 'Love Where You Live.' Please stay involved throughout the clean-up season.
This isn't just about picking up a few bits of trash and making our streets look nicer. If we show respect for our neighborhoods then we show respect for each other - a clean city is a safe city.
If we create more beautiful surroundings, then we can attract more people to Philadelphia to visit, to work, to live and to raise families. A clean city is a prosperous city.
And if we combine removing the trash from our streets with planting more trees and creating more open spaces to enjoy, then we will have a more livable Philadelphia. A clean city is a happy city.
Let us come together as one Philadelphia and say with one voice, "We Love Where We Live."
Michael Nutter is the mayor of Philadelphia and a 1979 Wharton alumnus.
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