More than 30 students from local schools descended on the streets of Paterson yesterday to observe Global Youth Service Day, an initiative to get young people involved in the up-keep of their communities, by cleaning up streets all around the city.
Volunteers cleaned up streets around John F. Kennedy High School, School 5, and Community Charter School of Paterson; Preakness and Totowa Avenues; Liberty, Maple, and Walnut Streets, according to Eddie Gonzalez, who works for the New Jersey Community Development Corporation, a non-profit.
After the group cleaned up the streets, bagging loads of trash, surrounding each of the schools, they planted trees in and around Spruce and Grand Streets near the Community Charter School of Paterson.
Mr Gonzalez and his son Joshua, 6-year-old, participated in the tree planting, in an effort to impart good values to his young son; Mr Gonzalez told us, “It was a great experience for the both of us because I wanted to make sure that Joshua grows to be a mindful, caring and responsible person.”
The event which takes place every year around this time was sponsored by AmeriCorp and New Jersey Community Development Corporation.