More than 500 people in matching green shirts showed up at Hing Hay Park on Saturday, April 25 ready to take part in the annual C/ID Spring Clean Day in conjunction with Comcast Cares Day.
“It’s a day that gathers people from all across the city, from all walks of life, to give some serious TLC to a historic and culturally-significant neighborhood in a hands-on way,” said Diem Ly, external affairs manager and community relations lead for Comcast’s Washington region. “This neighborhood is not just a place to eat dim sum or park to attend sports events. In a way, it’s the heartbeat of Seattle and it matters to treat it with respect and care.”
There were around 3.000 volunteers across the state of Washington as part of Comcast Cares Day. In Seattle, Comcast hosted the cleanup with InterIm Community Development Association, Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDPDA), and Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Area (CIDBIA).
#IHeartCID and #CCDay were the running hash tags for the day to promote the event and raise awareness of the day’s activities.
Various groups within the community such as ACRS, Tet in Seattle, UrbanArtworks, and others participated in the clean up, arriving before 8:00 a.m. to sign up for different projects. This was followed by short encouraging speeches from the hosts, stretching exercises, and energetic exercises before everyone dispersed around different parts of the International District to carry out their tasks.
There are many projects that are done year after year, such as painting over graffiti, litter pick-up, re-painting the I-5 columns, among many others, Ly said.
OCA—Greater Seattle’s Jael Yamamoto was responsible for rounding up six of her organization’s members that participated this year.
“We have been doing the same project for a couple of years, which is tending to the Danny Woo Garden,” Yamamoto said. “Our tasks involved weeding and mulching.”
Ly also mentioned that along with their usual projects, there was a little more creativity involved in developing new projects as well.
According to Ly, these projects included “painting an 80-foot long community mural designed by a local artist and making sure we included the area of Little Saigon. Comcast also purchased $10,000-worth of furniture for SCIDPDA’s co-works space called Hing Hay Co-Works—meant to serve as a springboard for budding new businesses.”
“This event is important for the community because it refreshes Chinatown and should promote business within the area,” Yamamoto said. “My hopes for the future of this event are that more community-based organizations get involved.”
Comcast Cares Day has grown over the past 14 years to include more than 100,000 volunteers across the country.
“How often can you get over 500 people on a Saturday morning to clean up a neighborhood?” Ly said. “It’s an inspiring day and I expect the Spring Clean will continue on for years to come.”
