Community organizations hosted cleanup events across several Milwaukee neighborhoods over the weekend, drawing many volunteers to pick up litter and clear debris following recent severe weather and flooding.

Tory Lowe picks up trash at the small park across the street from the Milwaukee Public Library Atkinson Branch during his community cleanup event.

One of the city’s larger efforts, the Tory Lowe Community Clean Up, took place from 8 a.m. to noon at three different locations in the city. Volunteers began at Evolve MKE, 6550 N. 76th St., before moving to the New Pitts Mortuary, 2031 W. Capitol Drive, and ending at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, 3275 N. 3rd St. The cleanup event included a mobile hazardous waste drop-off by Home HazMat Collection.

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“We had almost 300 people register for this cleanup,” said Tory Lowe, a radio personality with 101.7 The Truth, who organized the event.

Volunteers pick up trash in an alley near the New Pitts Mortuary during the Tory Lowe Community Cleanup.
Volunteers scoop trash and other debris into a garbage truck in an alley near the New Pitts Mortuary.

Lowe has been hosting the cleanup event for several years. He said each effort builds on momentum from previous years.

“Last year, we picked up 10,000 gallons of trash,” Lowe said. “This year, we’re trying to beat that.”

Ethan Allen, 12, picks up trash with his grandma, Dionna Simmons.
Volunteers pick up trash at the small park across the street from the Milwaukee Public Library Atkinson Branch.

He also asked residents to continue their efforts beyond Earth Day, which is April 22.

“We have to encourage the community to get out and do neighborhood cleanups,” Lowe said.

Alvin Haywood, owner of Haywood Handyman LLC, helps clean up an empty lot filled with trash at West Locust and North 27th streets during the 5th Annual Amani Earth Day Cleanup hosted by the Dominican Center.

In the Amani neighborhood, volunteers gathered for the 5th annual Amani Earth Day Cleanup at the Dominican Center, 2470 W. Locust St. Participants spread out across nearby blocks to collect trash and beautify the area.

Volunteers and staff clean up trash during the 5th Annual Amani Earth Day Cleanup.

“We’re just out here to make the community look better and be the example,” said Shivon Williams, a participant in the cleanup.

Williams said volunteers could see visible improvements as the morning progressed.

“To be honest, it looks so much better than when we first started this,” Williams said. “It’s looking really good.”

Shivon Williams clears debris out of a storm drain during the 5th Annual Amani Earth Day Cleanup.

Near Sherman Park, volunteers joined a cleanup at the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave. The effort focused on improving the marketplace and other nearby streets.

Dominique Ward picks up trash outside the Phoenix Marketplace.

The events were part of a broader push across Milwaukee to prepare neighborhoods for Earth Day, encouraging ongoing community involvement, especially after recent severe weather caused flooding throughout the city. 

Organizers say the cleanups not only address litter and debris, but also help build neighborhood pride.

Brothers Armani Batchelor, 13, and Isiah Harris, 5, pick up trash during the Tory Lowe Community Cleanup.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a photojournalist as well as a Report for America corps member and Catchlight Local fellow. Before coming to Milwaukee, he spent two years as a photographer at one of America’s oldest daily newspapers, The Blade, in Toledo, Ohio. Aguilar grew up in the Chicago suburbs. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from DePaul University and his master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism.