SUMMERTIME TRASH PICK-UPS ARE FUN

No, really.

There is a special buzz in San Francisco as the school year comes to an end. My two kids just wrapped up 9th and 6th grades, and you can feel the shift everywhere — not just in our house, but across the city. Backpacks land in a heap by the door and out come the bikes and skateboards. Our neighborhoods fill back up with young people, zipping around corners — a whole wide-open summer stretching out ahead of them. It’s hopeful, a little undefined, and always a welcome change of pace.

As San Francisco’s First Lady, I want more of us to feel that, and to feel it together (perhaps even by picking up trash). That’s what public service has always done for me, and it’s why I’m so excited for One City Day, a citywide day of service on Saturday, July 11th. It’s a perfect activity for summer — and one that’s great for families, friends, and neighbors to do together!

Sign-ups to volunteer are open and include hundreds of projects all across San Francisco. From the Great Neighborhood Trash-Off between Russian Hill and North Beach, to Painting a Mural in The East Cut to Growing Together at Tenderloin Community School — there are projects for every interest and for people of all ages (you can search for projects that are family- and senior-friendly).

We are all students of service, and One City Day is for everyone!

For those among us ready for “graduate” level service — that goes beyond One City Day — San Francisco Public Works offers the Adopt-A-Street Program giving any San Franciscan (or group of San Franciscans) the responsibility for keeping a designated street, sidewalk and storm drains clean and clear. Basic street cleaning supplies like brooms, pickers and bags are provided by Public Works, as is pick-up for the trash.

Started more than two decades ago, the Adopt-A-Street program is an incredible partnership between merchants, residents, and the city that strengthens community ties and creates more welcoming streets for everyone who lives, works, and shops in adopted areas.

Just ask Sam McCormick, a veteran of the program, who has been keeping the McCoppin Hub neighborhood clean and community-minded for the past four years.

In Sam’s words, “I would highly recommend joining the Adopt-A-Street Program. It is a wonderful way to get some exercise, meet your neighbors, and make a visible, tangible difference in the beautification of our city.”

In the fast-paced world we all live in, doing good — or even just witnessing acts of kindness — are proven to make us feel better.

Whether you’re a student, graduate, or senior in service, I hope you will join me on July 11th as we turn cleaning up into community.

San Francisco teaches me something every day, and I can’t wait to show up for our amazing City.

To graduates all across SF. . . it’s your time to shine!