DEARBORN — On Saturday, May 3rd, hundreds of children turned out to Lapeer Park to participate in a community clean up event assisted by local parents, organizations and city officials. 

Organized by local parent William Ali, the event included students from Salina School, Edsel Ford, Fordson and Dearborn High who walked block to block in the South End cleaning up trash and litter. 

Assistance also came from organizations such as the Yemen American Benevolent Association, ACCESS, Michigan Yemen Sports Association, American Muslim Society, Student Public Outreach Committee and American Association of Yemeni Scientists and Professionals.

Also in attendance was the Dearborn Police Department and the Dearborn Fire Department, who assisted the clean up by providing city-owned vehicles.

The event kicked off at 10 a.m. at Lapeer Park, where local children were given a pep talk by Mayor Jack O’Reilly. O’Reilly told the children to take extra measures to keep the park clean this summer season. The city has had to replace a drinking fountain at the park numerous times due to damages.

“All summer long when you are here and you see something, it’s important to let us know. We’ve had to replace the drinking fountain so many times because people have deliberately broken it. When you see somebody do anything wrong in this park, all you have to do is call us,” O’Reilly told the children. 

Children were given gloves and trash bags before being divided into groups of ten, with one adult chaperoning each group.  

“We completely covered the whole South End. Teachers and other coaches and volunteers took group of kids and went down every block in the community and covered every spot,” said Ali.  

Police and fire trucks also shadowed the groups of children up and down the neighborhood blocks as they were picking up trash off of streets, sidewalks and lawns. 

Also present were Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad, 19th District Chief Judge Sam Salamey, 19th District Court Judge Mark Somers, Fire Chief Joseph Murray, Dearborn Superintendent Brian Whiston, Dearborn Board of Trustees President Hussein Berry, Dearborn Trustee Mary Lane, City Councilman Mike Sareini and City Council President Susan Dabaja.

Dabaja, who was raised in the South End, tells The Arab American News that she was proud to see that locals are still trying to preserve an area of Dearborn that is embedded with history and culture.

“This event was a wonderful example of how residents can come together and do something positive for their community. Their efforts and willingness to improve and enhance their neighborhoods are commendable and I’m very proud of my South End roots. I hope that this will lead other residents throughout our city to put forth the same efforts in their neighborhoods,” Dabaja stated. 

Despite the positive community reception of the event, the South End still has some obstacles to overcome. In the last three months, the area has seen a slight increase in reported crimes. Last week the Dearborn Police Department reported that Part A crimes, which include larceny, burglary, vehicle theft and assault, rose 26 percent in the South End neighborhoods.

An area that usually lacks community involvement, Ali says he is also in the process of establishing a Lapeer Park Neighborhood Association to try and reverse recent trends. He hopes to involve residents in more clean up projects and start up a neighborhood watch program. 

Ali tells the Arab American News that the turnout for the clean up was more than he had anticipated, and he hopes to turn it in into a yearly event.

“It is important to encourage community involvement and to allow children to partake in pride for their community. It gave our children a sense of community pride and community responsibility,” Ali added.