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Westwood neighborhood cleanup keeps young people involved

Photos: Westwood Pride clean-up day

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By Kelli Wynn, Staff Writer Updated 9:01 PM Saturday, November 7, 2009

DAYTON — Bernard Jones said it is important for young people to become leaders and get involved with the City of Dayton.

That’s one of the reasons why The University of Dayton sophomore and Student Government Association member participated in the Westwood Pride Neighborhood Cleanup on Saturday, Nov.7.

The event was headquartered at Westwood Elementary, 2805 Oakridge Drive.

“It takes a community to raise a child and it takes a community to beautify this area,” Jones said while taking a break from raking leaves.

The purpose of the event was to clean up the school’s property and Westwood neighborhood properties, according to the school’s principal Czerny Buxton.

The volunteers also went up and down the street to pick up trash and stopped by houses to see if residents had any outdoor needs.

The coordinators and volunteers for the event included the students and staff of the elementary school, Wright State University, the University of Dayton, Westwood Community Center, Wesley Community Center, the Southwest Priority Board and various community service organizations.

“It started out (as a) brainstorming activity to try to instill some Westwood pride, not only at the school, but in the whole community,” Buxton said.

Jones, who is also a graduate of the Dayton Early College Academy, said he hopes the Westwood event would inspire other events in Dayton neighborhoods.

“I think its a model that we can use to begin to rebuild the community,” Robert Walker, executive director of the Wesley Community Center on Delphos Avenue, said of the event. “I think that the resources are here and today was an indication of the will of the people in the community.”

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That's Great, Thank you its so positive Hopefully they will partner together and make this a regular event that will produce more positive merits to all the groups involved.

Antonio
9:36 PM, 11/8/2009

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Saw these young people out today while I was picking up campaign signs- looked amazing.
And- they looked like they were having fun.
We could do this every weekend- and build connections around the city.
It's time to regain our city pride- and these young people are inspiring.

David Esrati
12:20 AM, 11/8/2009

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This looked like a nice event and as Bobby said, something positive. It's nice to see a community come together for a good cause.

Jim
11:05 PM, 11/7/2009

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Thanks for some positive news. It's about time DDN. Too much negativity about crime and poor political coverage has been widespread with this and other media outlets.

Thank you to the volunteers. Keep up the good work!

Bobby
10:08 PM, 11/7/2009

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