How 'Glitter' is helping to clean Philly streets
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- "I had been the president of my civic association," said Morgan Berman. "And I would spend hours every month trying to get volunteers to show up... and then maybe getting four or five blocks clean, if we're lucky, once a month."
The Philadelphia-born Berman turned her childhood curiosity about trash into a purposeful mission as an adult. She founded 'Glitter,' a subscription-based service where neighbors can chip in to fund a street cleaner to perform weekly services for a living wage.
"Paid cleaners are all people typically who have barriers to work of one kind or another and are passionate about the issue," said Berman. "So, these are the people that, you know, we picked to be our ambassadors and kind of neighborhood heroes."
One of those cleaners is Kevin Price from North Philadelphia.
"I was locked up. And when I came home, this lady that gave me a counselor, and she told me about it," said Price. "She was like, you know, try this company, Glitter."
Price loves his new job, which has helped him turn over a new leaf among the bottles and plastic wrappers.
"I think it helps the community, you know, keeps the litter down, you know, keeps you out of trouble and stuff, you know, might help your neighbors out," he said. "I think it's a win-win."
In the past two years, Glitter has encouraged nearly 1,000 residents to chip in for cleaning services. As a result, they reach almost 300 blocks per week.
But for the future, Glitter needs more neighbors to pitch in for subscriptions in order to clean more blocks across the city.
To learn more about Glitter or how to get involved, visit their website.
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