GCU News Bureau
Emma Blair said college students sometimes get stuck in their own little bubble. But events such as Saturday’s annual Love Our Community Street Cleanup reminds her that there’s a whole world beyond that bubble.
“What I loved about it is that college can be, in a good way and a bad way, very self-centered. It’s about you and your profession. But events like this remind me that you’re not the only person in this world,” said Blair, a senior in the Grand Canyon University Honors College studying history and prelaw.
She was one of about 20 GCU students who volunteered for the community mobilization cleanup event of the Interstate 17 corridor, along 19th and 27th avenues, from Glendale to Northern avenues. The effort was a collaboration of various organizations, including GCU, the 19NORTH Community Alliance, the Violence Impact Project, the Washington Park Neighborhood Association and Phoenix City Councilwoman Betty Guardado.
“A ton of people from all over the Valley came out, so not just GCU,” Blair said.
Students from various campus groups donned their GCU purple and cleaned along 27th Avenue from Bethany Home Road to Glendale Avenue.
Blair said it was nice to connect with so many people in the community, such as the police officers at the event who stopped to visit them.
“It was a great team effort with so many from the community coming together to make a difference. A definite highlight for our students was getting to meet and interact with the officers from the Cactus Park Precinct. We were blessed to be able to serve alongside our neighbors,” said Dana Drew Shaw, GCU Director of Government Relations, who helped spread the word about the event to the campus community.
Students worked alongside church, school and small business groups for “a united cleanup effort,” Shaw said.
The city will come back through the neighborhood to trim bushes, clean graffiti and sweep the street.
“When we work together to improve our community, we build strong and safe neighborhoods for all our families to enjoy,” said Guardado. “I am inspired to see neighborhood groups, residents, city departments, students and families come together for our community cleanup."
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