Volunteer cleanup puts a shine on San Diego neighborhood
The San Diego Union-Tribune
by Nina Garin
BARRIO LOGAN — Picking up cigarette butts and broken glass from the street isn’t usually how Erin Santos spends her Saturday mornings, especially not in a neighborhood miles from her Rancho San Diego home.
But Santos, 23, was among 200 volunteers who participated in a Barrio Logan “Green Street” public cleanup yesterday, an event hosted by San Diego’s Redevelopment Agency, the Urban Corps of San Diego County and San Diego City Council District 8 to help beautify the area.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Santos said. “I thought it would be a good experience, a chance to do something new that would also help the city.”
After reading about the cleanup event in the newspaper, Santos switched her morning shift at Starbucks so she could be among those picking up trash, pulling weeds and planting trees along Cesar Chavez Parkway.
Along with beautifying the streets, volunteers from various San Diego organizations, including The Fuller Center for Housing and Barrio Station, helped renovate two houses in the neighborhood, with plans to fix up 12 more over the next two years.
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