The Cleanest Streets Contest is Nuestra’s premier annual community building activity. Cleanest Streets is a community driven project that unifies neighbors, improves the aesthetic of our neighborhood streets, and at the end of the day is a symbol of community pride.
Our contest is one of the avenues we use to foster positive relationships amongst residents and develop neighbor networks. Our hope is that as residents work together over the course of the day, they will develop the relationships and the confidence to harness their collective potential to tackle more complex challenges in their communities.
Nuestra’s organizing staff spend several months identifying emerging community leaders to serve as Street Captains, who in turn help plan and support the execution of the contest. Street Captains canvass their neighborhood to recruit volunteers for each of the streets under their responsibility. Street Captains ensure that volunteers have t-shirts, figure out what tools are needed, and pick out flats of flowers to beautify their streets. Towards the end of the contest, judges visit the different streets and decide which street will get the title of most improved street. The day ends with a celebratory BBQ to recognize the hard work of all of our community volunteers. In 2011, over 250 community members participated to clean and beautify 46 streets in our service area!
Timeline
- Our organizing staff begin planning and recruiting Street Captains in February
- The contest is usually held the first or second weekend in June, during NeighborWorks Week
Contact Paul Francois at 617-989-1200 or pfrancois@nuestracdc.org if you would like to participate next year!
