Pitt students clean up Mon Valley neighborhoods for annual service day

University of Pittsburgh students made their way through the Mon Valley for their service project during Pitt's seventh annual Make a Difference Day.

They spent Saturday clearing trash and debris from streets and highways in Duquesne, East McKeesport and North Versailles.

“It's a part of the Pitt students' mission and the university's mission to give back to the region,” Pitt Student Affairs Division staffer Bethany Schreck said. “That's really embedded into their everyday experience at Pitt. They voluntarily are making the choice to better the community they're a part of.

“Pitt's a beautiful campus. We're very lucky to be exposed to such a beautiful environment every day, so we want to give that to other people in their local neighborhoods. I'm lucky that Student Affairs gives this outlet to the students and the staff members.”

More than 4,300 students and 100 nonprofit organizations and communities registered for the event.

Duquesne resident Estelle Schumacher led a group of students around town to Doney and Dell streets and Highland Avenue. Jefferson Hills resident Mary Donohue was visiting her mother, Rosemary Denne, and observed the volunteers in action.

“I pulled up and thought, ‘Oh my God, my mother would be thrilled,'” Donohue said. “I'm very touched that these kids would come from Oakland to Duquesne to help out. There's some good people here.”

Donohue said her son, Patrick , graduated from Pitt with two master's degrees. She said she is proud to see the university give back to the communities.

Schumacher, who has participated in multiple Duquesne cleanups, said the students did very well and that more people should show such initiative.

“When there's a problem, instead of complaining, you roll up your sleeves and do something about it,” she said.

Pitt junior Laura Kelly, a resident assistant at the Litchfield Tower A dormitory, was participating in her third Make a Difference Day. She was one of 20 students in East McKeesport weeding the landscape of the main ingress along Fifth and Josephine avenues.

“It's really fun for us because usually we are in the collegiate bubble,” Kelly said. “Stepping outside of that university setting and going into residential Pittsburgh is always eye-opening and fun. It's different. I'm just happy it's not raining and it's not freezing. Last year was colder than this. I think it's really cool to see so many buses, so you really see how many people from university are willing to work for a day.”

“I am working with the most amazing group of Pitt students,” borough council president Kathleen Lipesky said. “They just keep going. How does the town look now? Fabulous.”

Lipesky and the students cleaned playgrounds and other areas.

Pennsylvania Resources Council lent its mascot, the Litter Bug, to North Versailles. It accompanied students and volunteers on Greensburg Pike and around Rossi's Pop-Up Marketplace.

“We're proud of these students,” North Versailles cleanup coordinator Louise Beswick said. “We look forward to them coming out every year and helping us. There was so much trash. They did an excellent job, and they did it so quickly. I was amazed at how fast they got it all done. It's really hard to get people to find the time to come out and volunteer, not just for our cleanup but in other ways as well. Having these Pitt students come out helps us get the job done.”

“It makes our community look better,” township Commissioner George Beswick said. “It's a better place to live. It's cleaner.”

Delta Delta Delta sorority members and Pitt sophomores Chloe Alles and Annalise DiSipio were in North Versailles with Buffalo transfer student junior Jontaya Barron.

“It's a great experience because you get to be with a lot of your friends,” DiSipio said. “It's a fun time, and you're helping the community. You see a lot of things that you wouldn't normally see on campus. You get out into Pittsburgh.”

Alles said she participated in a similar event last year.

“It's kind of the same principle, but I think every time you do it, it's a new experience because you get to go somewhere else,” she said. “I didn't get to do it with them last year. I liked it more this year. It's fun to be a part of something so much bigger than yourself with some of your best friends.”

Barron said she was surprised by the amount of litter they collected.

“Where I'm from there's not really this much,” she said. “This is my first time here. I like to help a community and help others, so this is something that I enjoy.”

The students said the experience made them never want to litter again.

More information about Pitt Make a Difference Day is available at studentaffairs.pitt.edu/getinvolved.

Michael DiVittorio is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-664-9161 ext. 1965, or mdivittorio@tribweb.com.