May 6, 2006

Pride in Hamilton

This morning a drab and windswept Hamilton was brightened up with splashes of yellow.

There were some in the downtown core. Some in the North End. And some as far east as Queenston Road.

Carrying huge garbage bags the colour of sunshine, troops of volunteers swept through the city leaving a trail of tidiness behind them.

"We just wanted a practical way to give back to our neighbourhoods," said Wayne Porty, International Teams worker at Hughson St Baptist Church and one of the event organizers. "There's always lots of garbage to pick up and it makes schools and parks safer."

The cleanup was part of "TrueCity", an alliance of Hamilton churches working together for the community. Eleven groups participated on Saturday, each made up of 12-20 people sprucing up the area around their churches.

While Porty and his team (pictured above) used bags and gloves donated by the City of Hamilton to clean up a nearby playing field, another army of litter pickers was hard at work by Philpott Memorial Church (below).

Team leader Christine Vaughan said the public response was very positive. "One guy signed up on the spot. He said he walks these streets every day and wanted to help."

"Another guy asked us if we worked for the City," said fellow Philpott volunteer Rob McElravy. "We told him we were doing it for God, and he said that was great."

As the morning drew to a close and people started heading home, a few determined litter-pickers could still be found in East Hamilton's Montgomery Park, cleaning up mounds of broken beer bottles.

Peter Giokas, pastor of Little Bethel Community Church that formed part of the Montgomery Park team (pictured below), said: "We want to do something meaningful in the community that helps them," adding that many local families felt they had lost control of the area to teenagers.

It will take a lot more than a morning's work to clean up the city of Hamilton. But with more than 100 volunteers, 11 churches, and countless bright yellow bags, Saturday's effort gave local neighbourhoods something much more precious: a ray of hope with a touch of pride.

Who took part?

Wentworth Baptist Church	Hamilton Christian Fellowship
Hughson Street Baptist Church	Ellis Avenue Bible Church
Philpott Memorial Church	Mount Hamilton Baptist Church
Bethany Gospel Chapel	St Alban the Martyr Anglican Church
Little Bethel Community Church	In His Hands Family Ministries
First Christian Reformed Church	The East End Working Group
Garside Bible Church