Sharon High School club gets 'gritty' for their city

Sep. 15—SHARON — Sharon High School students got busy Thursday "Gettin' Gritty" for their city.

Members of the Hi-Y club spent their morning cleaning up East State Street from Country Fair at Buhl Boulevard west to Dock Street in preparation for WaterFire Saturday.

"I like doing things for our city. It's making our city look better," LaBron Wilder, senior, said. "It makes you feel good inside."

Geno Rossi, neighborhood revitalization coordinator for the city's code office, said the cleanup is part of the city's program "Gettin' Gritty for our City."

The city has coordinated these collaborative community efforts so everyone can be a part of it, he said.

"To get these kids to understand what it takes, that we don't have the resources to take care of the entire city," Rossi said.

The Hi-Y club cleaned up in front of every business.

"The kids can take a hold of these opportunities to make something out of them," Rossi said.

Rossi has moved more into schools this year. The code enforcement team has held blight assemblies for the schools. Now, Rossi is focusing on the school clubs.

"The clubs and the kids who really want to push," Rossi said. "It's really important for some of these kids."

"Gettin' Gritty for our City" started about five years ago. Since that time, they have collected 15,000 bags of garbage, 13,000 tires and about 12,000 electronics.

"Could you imagine if all that was still out there?" Rossi said. "We're going to continue doing this until there's no garbage."

Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com