An organized trash pickup brought students to the Carver community alongside the Carver Area Civic Improvement League Saturday.
Despite Saturday’s cloudy weather, the Carver clean up brought 30 volunteers, including students and Carver residents.
“We try to do a trash pickup about two or three times a year,” said Jason Snook, a CACIL member-at-large. “It’s really cool to collaborate and do something positive in the neighborhood.”
Snook worked with the Student Government Association last year when the groups made a list of potentially dangerous areas that were not well lit in response to the muggings on Goshen Street last year.
CACIL and the SGA’s list was submitted to a community police officer and a month later street lighting was supplied.
After the street lighting project, CACIL has worked closely with the SGA, along with other groups. The SGA began to collaborate with CACIL for the trash pickup event in the spring of 2009.
“VCU is a big organization and now that I’m getting to know a couple people, it’s a lot easier to collaborate,” Snook said.
According to Chip Atkins, owner of Pibby’s Bicycle Repair on 731 West Marshall St. in the Carver community, the Carver neighborhood is infested with trash and is likely contributed to by residents and students alike.
“I pick up the trash by my store because I want it to have a neat and clean appearance and the neighborhood should have that as well,” Atkins said.
According to SGA’s Director of External Affairs Leah Fremouw, the Carver clean up event is a collaborative effort of different groups all over campus and neighborhood associations.
“We are hoping by working together and meeting each other a better relationship is fostered between residents and students,” Fremouw said.