MILWAUKEE — Just one year after moving to Holton Street between Milwaukee's Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods, a couple is already making a big difference in their community.
Emma Larson and Khurram Naik just moved into Riverwest in February 2022. For them, it was important to make a positive impact on the community as soon as they got there. So they got trash bags and trash pickers, and almost every week since then they have walked their neighborhood picking up litter.
"Doing something small is an act of humility but then it’s also - it is very powerful. I think people underestimate how powerful it is," Khurram Naik said.
It's all about making a difference in the community whether big or small. They wanted to invest themselves in the community immediately. They didn't have much change to spare, but they did have time.
"If you can quickly identify a place as home, I think that's a nice thing, you know. You don’t have to live someplace 30 years to be invested," Emma Larson said.
These acts of service to the community aren't going unnoticed. In fact, their work is having a reverberating effect through the community. What started as just them two has turned into a whole community effort. They will often have volunteers walk alongside them picking up trash in the neighborhood.
"So, this is a great tangible feedback every week of something you’ve done some progress you’ve made," Naik said.
In the past year, they estimate they have picked up 7,600 pieces of trash. But it's not about the amount of trash picked up, it's about the message it sends to the community.
"My hope is that if people notice that there isn’t as much litter as maybe there used to be, or if people like see people constantly out like picking up trash, that if they do have the inclination to litter that maybe they’ll think twice or, you know, they’ll consider picking up trash independently on their own," Larson said.
Plus, it's setting an example for their soon-to-be baby boy. Emma is 35 weeks pregnant and still picking up trash. She wanted to make sure the neighborhood was the best it could be for her boy.
"When other people like go and take initiative on their own to clean their own blocks, yea, you can feel the scale of the impact that you don’t always recognize," Larson said.
Yes, grand gestures of kindness and service are great. But often it's the small acts done consistently over time that makes the biggest difference. So don't be surprised if the next time you're in Riverwest you see Emma and Khurram walking down the street cleaning up the neighborhood one piece of trash at a time.
You can get involved by reaching out to Emma Larson on Facebook.
