MILWAUKEE — Armed with a black trash bag and a trash picker-upper Kashi Govan spent the lunch hour along North Ave near Pete's Fruit Market.
Piece by piece, she picked up fast food wrappers, glass, cigarettes, and other trash left behind.
"As kids, this what we're growing up to and this is where we're going to be in the world and it's just not the best that it can be," Govan said.
She's 13 years old, about to turn 14.
"We can all be helping out more. We can all be helping each other, picking each other up instead of putting each other down," she said about her desire to help out.
Govan and about a dozen other young people worked with Big Clean MKE to help pick up trash in the neighborhoods around Milwaukee's Bronzeville District. They're hoping to make the area a little bit more beautiful ahead of Bronzeville Week which starts on Saturday.
"I think it's best when people come out to Milwaukee they don't just see trash. Instead, they see the beautiful community, they see the fruit market, they see the Bronzeville area," Govan said.
Travis Landry with WestCare helped to organize Wednesday's clean-up. He said there will be a clean-up each day leading up to and during Bronzeville week.
"Our goal is just to keep the city of Milwaukee looking beautiful," Landry said. "We'll have crews going down North Avenue and the Bronzeville area to make sure it's clean."
Govan hopes to see more young faces helping out and celebrating Bronzeville week.
"It's really important for everyone to group together and to help each other, not just in clean-ups, but as a community," Govan said.
Bronzeville Week is a celebration of African American culture, history, and entertainment.
"Eight days worth of family, fun, and friends as well as culture, arts, and commerce right here in Bronzeville," Alderwoman Milele Coggs said about the event.
For more information about how you can get involved with clean-ups, you can reach out to WestCare by clicking here.
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