'Biggest blessing:' IMPACT Massillon to clean-up Fourth Street SW neighborhood

MASSILLON – As a man with a briefcase knocked on her front door, Amanda Martin figured he was trying to get her to switch her gas or electric provider.

She never thought he would be an answer to her prayers.

"He handed me a flyer and I skimmed it," she said.

It was from IMPACT Massillon, an effort led by the Massillon Area Clergy Association to make widespread improvements with a one-day volunteer event that targets a specific area of town.

The brochure highlighted some of the projects the group is willing to take on, including mulch and gravel.

More: Massillon IMPACt returns June 4

Martin's focus went to the gravel, something her family had been considering to allow more parking for the around-the-clock nurses who help take care of her special-needs son.

"This is going to be so helpful," Martin said. "What a blessing this is to me and my neighbors."

While IMPACT will focus on one area during the cleanup, city residents are encouraged to get out and tidy up.

Making an IMPACT on the Massillon community

IMPACT Massillon will focus on Fourth Street SW between McKinley Avenue SW and Anthony Avenue SW.

Roger S. Alber, senior minister at First Baptist Church and one of the group's leaders, said the area is a perfect spot for some TLC.

Martin's home on McKinley Avenue and Fourth Street SW was the first of the Habitat for Hum homes built in 2010.

Habitat for Humanity: Project offers hands-on experience, life lessons

A group of more than 400 volunteers from area churches, the Washington High School construction trades students and the Tiger football team will be out June 4 tackling tasks at 17 homes. Work includes painting two houses, building a handicap ramp, leveling a driveway, tree-trimming and concrete work. They also will clean up the area, clearing brush and debris.

Construction trades students will construct a deck for one home.

"We pretty excited about the beef," Alber joked. "Having the football team around, we'll have a bunch of muscle."

For Martin, IMPACT Massillon's help lifts a heavy weight off her shoulders. A driveway extension is something her family has been discussing for more than a year.

The nurses who help care for 21-year-old Joseph Martin often have to park a distance from her home, she said, noting they come and go at all hours. The street is not well-lit and when it snows, they get plowed in and have to spend a lot of time digging out.

Martin said the project would have cost her as much as $900.

Volunteers also will clean two vacant lots next to Martin's home. Martin recently acquired the properties through the Stark County Lot program, which aims to turn tax delinquent, vacant lots into well-maintained, tax-producing properties by making them available to qualified contiguous property owners.

The lots have garbage and debris left when the buildings were torn down, she said.

"This is lightening a load. I work full-time, take care of my kids and juggle all kinds of things," she said. "This is the biggest blessing that could have knocked on my door. For my neighbors and myself, I am so grateful that my neighborhood was chosen to be part of this. It just shows how good Massillon really is."

Continuing a legacy to share God's love

IMPACT Massillon's roots can be traced to the C.O.O.L. - Community Outreach of Love - project. For three years beginning in 2013, the group annually spruced up an area of town.

In 2016, C.O.O.L. moved to Tallmadge, but the clergy association wanted to continue the ministry. IMPACT was born.

The driving force was the Rev. Denny McDonald. The former pastor of Newman Baptist Church and associate pastor at First Baptist Church died Dec. 1.

"He was a very gifted, intelligent man," Alber recalled. "He had a master's (degree) in engineering and a master's of divinity."

In honor of McDonald, the group is pushing forward with this year's event.

"We didn't want to lose the opportunity ... " he said. "It's one of the few things churches can do to have influence and impact, and most importantly share God's love."

Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry applauded Alber for taking the helm and making the day of service happen.

Since 2016, IMPACT Massillon has made external improvements to 107 homes in four areas of the city with the help of more than 2,100 volunteers.

More than 400 volunteers from area churches and organizations such as St. Mary's Catholic Church, Massillon Rotary Club and Living Water Church are expected to aid in this year's project.

Teams of six to 10 focus on one home, Alber said. The participating churches and organizations pay for materials that range from $500 to $1000 per home.

The group is aided by the city in obtaining permits and road closures as well as helping to identify the areas that could use the group's help. The mayor, he said, has even led a team throughout the years.

The group also leans on vendors that offer discounts such as Lowes, Sherwin Williams, Moyers Nursery, General Rent-All, Mazzocca Greenhouse, Uniontown Topsoil and Mulch and Home Depot. The groups offer 20% to 50% off, Alber said.

Tidying up Tiger Town

Playing off IMPACT Massillon's efforts, Catazaro-Perry hopes to be able to take the beautifying project citywide.

City officials turned to Manners Matter in Massillon, a grass-roots effort started to combat negativity and showcase good things happening locally.

Manners Matter: Group aims to clean-up Reservoir Park

Since its inception, the group has offered to-go grocery shopping for at-risk residents, teamed with area students and community members and collected cards for area nursing home patients during COVID and hosted community clean-ups, including at Reservoir Park and the Tremont viaduct.

As part of Tidy up Tiger Town, the group is encouraging residents to get out and clean litter and yard waste.

"It's more self-accountability," Frank Hill, one of the group's founders, said. "You have to take matters into your own hands and clean up your property."

Co-founder Christian Lamb said the group envisions neighbors helping neighbors to make their community a better place.

Manners Matter is assembling volunteers to help the elderly, disabled and those unable to clean up themselves.

"It's great to see different generations working together," Catazaro-Perry said. "And our younger generation is stepping up to take control of where we live and how we live. The older generation is leading the way but someday we'll have to replace them."

The work done by IMPACT Massillon is contagious, Alber said, and he hopes teaming up with Manners Matters and the city can spark a citywide cleanup that carries on long after June 4.

"It's contagious. Once someone started cleaning up their property, the next person starts. Hopefully, this concept of Tidying up Tiger Town will go a little further," Albers said.

The city will provide dumpsters from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 4 at the Massillon Street Department, 401 Walnut Road SW, for items collected during the clean-up.

Operations Supervisor Tom Burgasser said in addition to the dumpsters, they will accept tires (must be off the rim), and concrete. Concrete must be turned in by noon.

E-waste, including TVs and large appliances, will not be accepted. Burgasser said he is hoping to find a solution to collect large appliances.

Dried paint will be accepted. He suggests putting cat litter into the can to dry out the paint.

Burgasser reminded residents the dumpsters are not for items found inside the home but rather an exterior clean-up.

City Safety and Service Director Barb Sylvester is encouraging residents to send photos of their efforts to the city's Facebook page with the hashtags #TidyupTigerTown, #CityofChampions, #ImpactMassillon.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @aknappINDE

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Citywide cleanup effort is June 4, Impact Massillon hits streets