Bettering Communities

GARY, Ind. (September 21, 2016) – More than 200 volunteers, including 30 Service Sanitation employees and 50 students from Calumet New Tech High School, participated in the Black Oak Community Clean-Up Day by collecting over 5.34 tons of garbage and 329 spare tires littering the streets of their neighborhood.

Black Oak Restore hosted its first community-wide clean-up day on Saturday, September 17^th, from 10a.m-2p.m.  For more than 20 years, residents have fought a losing battle against illegal dumping within neighborhood borders due to lack of funding and enforcement. Under the direction of Doug Olin, a Black Oak resident of 50+ years, and the Old Firehouse Community Center, a group of residents began a grassroots effort to mobilize a larger plan.

Service Sanitation, Inc. a portable sanitation company headquartered in Gary dedicated to serving the community in which it operates, donated dumpsters, gloves, pickers, t-shirts and 30 volunteers to assist with the effort.

“We encourage social responsibility amongst our Service Sanitation team.  Black Oak is in our own backyard near company headquarters.  One of our employees suggested this opportunity and we thought: What better way to make a difference than to start locally?” said Natalie Litera Jones, Director of Operations.

Fueled by the power of social media, a promotional video for the cleanup day created by Service Sanitation quickly went viral and reached well over 17,000 people with more than 450 shares.  The Mayor’s Office and the City of Gary sent several representatives to a planning meeting and committed to mowing and street sweeping to assist with the clean-up efforts.

Sponsors of the clean-up included The Old Firehouse Community Center, Lake County Solid Waste Management, the local Black Oak Community churches, J&C Landscaping, Indiana Tree Removal Service, Black Oak Rangers, and Trucks with a Purpose.