SitemapNeighbors and volunteers in Youngstown got their hands dirty Friday to clean up their city. It was part of the United Way's Day of Caring.
"Born and raised my whole life," Elijah Stroughter said.
When Elijah came home Friday to the place he's been living for seven years, he was in for a big surprise.
"I just seen the whole community of people, just cleaning up. I thought it was beautiful. I didn't know who did it," Elijah said.
It was the United Way of Youngstown, which partnered with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation for the 21st annual Day of Caring.
"We're working on cleaning up abandoned houses. We're working on vacant lots, cleaning up sidewalks, getting brush, trash, debris out of our neighborhoods," said Jack Daugherty, with YNDC.
Jack is also a Youngstown native.
"I'm very proud of Youngstown and I want to see it be the place that we want it to be -- we, the residents, want this city to be," he said.
Each year, the United Way and YNDC choose a section of the city to clean up. This year, it was the south side.
The cleaning happened on Marmion Avenue all the way to E. Avondale Avenue, and between South Avenue and Cottage Grove Avenue.
More than 90 businesses and other organizations came to help. Altogether, there were 1,000 volunteers. To read the full story from WKBN, click here.