Over 300 Volunteers Participate in United Way Day of Caring STAND UP, FIGHT BLIGHT Project

Friday, September 12, 2014

On Friday, September 5th, nearly 300 volunteers took to the streets to board up and clean up 21 vacant and severely blighted homes in a three block area of Youngstown's north side.

This STAND UP, FIGHT BLIGHT volunteer workday project was the centerpiece of the United Way Day of Caring regional volunteer service event and was the largest community workday event in the history of YNDC.

The project was facilitated through a partnership between United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Green Youngstown (Youngstown Litter Control and Recycling), Lowe's Heroes (both Niles and Boardman stores were represented), Youngstown Street Department, Crandall Park Neighbors, Interfaith Home Maintenance, Marucci and Gaffney Excavating, Drop N' Chop LLC, Third Ward Councilman Nate Pinkard, Cobbin Office Tower, Keep America Beautiful, YNDC, and over 20 agencies and businesses who contributed volunteers to the event.

Volunteers boarded and secured 21 wide open vacant homes, removed 380 cubic yards of garbage and construction debris, cut down 250 cubic yards of brush and overgrowth, removed over 150 tires from illegal dumping sites, and demolished three failing and unsafe garage structures from behind the homes.