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Last September, at the height of COVID lockdowns, with whispers of the possibility of vaccines just beginning, Jessica Tweed’s birthday was coming up. She couldn’t host a party, she couldn’t have people outside her bubble over to her house, but still, she wanted to do something fun to celebrate. Luckily, her sister BreAnna knew that Jessica loved giving back to her community by picking up litter and begrudgingly asked, “Do you want to get together and pick up trash for your birthday?”
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Jessica said “Yes!” and her husband, parents, brother, sisters, friends, their partners, and two babies all joined to celebrate Jessica’s birthday by picking up trash along 6th Ave. To everyone's surprise, they learned something Jessica already knew: community clean ups are incredibly fun! “Drivers were honking their appreciation, and we all felt a sense of connection that we’d missed since the start of COVID,” Jessica said when describing that day.
A couple months later, Jessica and her friend Keren mapped out a route in Central Tacoma and did it again. A local 7-Eleven gave them free coffee, and Burger Seoul yelled over their loudspeaker “You guys are awesome!” Oscar’s Enemies was officially born. The next month, another of Jessica’s friends, Jennifer, “hosted” their first Eastside cleanup.
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Oscar’s Enemies, named after the beloved green grouch, has now hosted nine community trash cleanup days, which have included 335 volunteers and resulted in the collection of 4,186 pounds of garbage. The group now has specialized jobs – sweepers, drivers, full trash bag collectors, and route leaders – who lead volunteers as they scour their selected routes each month. They have become so efficient and so popular for volunteering that people are now asking for longer routes and more frequent cleanups.
“People come for the litter, but they stay for the community,” Jessica said, describing what Oscar’s Enemies has meant for the community. “There is something synergistic, it’s hard to explain. It gives people a sense of pride to be part of something bigger than themselves and to form connections, while also giving back to the community.”
Oscar’s Enemies is now hosting monthly trash cleanup days. In August, they returned to 6th Ave. and had 60 people participate! They also received support from many of the local 6th Ave. businesses, including Dirty Oscar’s Annex, Komadre Kombucha, Blue Beard Coffee, Lovesome Dove, Gather Juice Co, Bubbles Bagels, Be Yoga Wild, and Windermere Abode. In addition, they partnered with Citizens for a Healthy Bay to mark city storm drains. The City of Tacoma provided the group with supplies and dump passes through the Neighborhood Litter Patrol Program. What started as one person’s COVID birthday has become a true community effort.
The next cleanup day will be in the Lincoln District on Saturday September 18th from 9-11AM. The one after will be on October 23rd, location to be determined. If you are interested in volunteering with Oscar’s Enemies and helping make Tacoma an even more beautiful City, you can sign up here. If you’d like to learn more, you can also check out their gorgeous Instagram page. |
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Compassion is about serving the community, but it is also about bringing community together. Oscar’s Enemies does both of these, all in the name of keeping Tacoma a clean and gorgeous city. Join us in saying “Thank you” at the City Council meeting this Tuesday, September 14th, as they are presented with the September Compassionate Tacoma Recognition.
As community members venture out in support of local business districts, the City of Tacoma wants these areas to be as inviting as possible to reflect the resilience these businesses have exhibited over the last year and a half through COVID-19 restrictions. To accomplish this, Mayor Victoria Woodards and City Council have initiated Tidy-Up Tacoma 2021. Starting in September and running through November, City crews will be out on the main arterials of Neighborhood Business Districts to clean up litter and debris, perform graffiti removal, right-of-way landscaping, street sweeping, and more.
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"Over the past year and a half, the impacts of COVID-19 have reached far beyond public health. Tacoma businesses and the workers they employ have been deeply impacted by this pandemic," said Mayor Victoria Woodards. "As visitors return to business districts, the City wants to ensure that shoppers, diners, and patrons encounter an environment that reflects the pride and care that each Tacoma business has put into persisting through COVID-19."
Do you want to show your compassion by joining the efforts to Tidy Up Tacoma? The City offers a variety of convenient programs and services to residents who are interested in holding a community cleanup event. Services include the free Call-2-Haul program that can be used up to two times per year, Adopt-a-Spot, Neighborhood Litter Patrol programs, and more. For a full list of Tacoma Neighborhood Cleanup Programs available to residents that aid in both personal and community-wide waste removal, visit www.cityoftacoma.org/cleanup.
To learn more, see how to get involved, and to track the weekly tonnage of trash collected, go www.cityoftacoma.org/tidyup.
Have you seen a friend, loved one, or neighborhood act with compassion? Have you felt the compassion of another's actions? Have you shown compassion? Please, we want to hear your stories. Follow this link to share your story or send it to compassion@cityoftacoma.org.
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