PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — One Portland man’s mission to clear the streets of litter has now expanded into a community-wide effort.
Frank Moscow launched Adopt One Block, providing residents with the opportunity to take action and help keep local neighborhoods clean.
In just a matter of six weeks, more than 230 blocks have been adopted. Volunteers have signed up to pick up debris or litter in their neighborhood. The goal is to clean their community block by block.
“We enable the people who care most about a block, which are the people who actually live or work in that block, the opportunity to clean up the block on a time schedule that they choose,” said Moscow.
Moscow says the process is simple – you sign up online, pick a block, select your free cleaning supplies, which are delivered to you, and clean your block when and how you choose.
“People want to do the right thing. They want to contribute. They want to help. We’re doing all these things to make it easy for people to do a good deed,” he said.
He came up with the idea three years ago during his daily walks downtown. He took matters into his own hands and cleaned the blocks.
“It needed to be done and I love my city and I want it to be a clean and inviting place for everybody,” he said.
Southeast Portland resident Kristen Russell-Ramos said she first learned about the program on social media and decided to sign up.
“One of the biggest things about the Adopt One Block program is the fact that the tools are supplied,” she said.
It’s volunteers like Russell-Ramos who are making a difference one block at a time.