City, community groups and business partners launch recruitment drive for Motor City Makeover

2022

City, community groups and business partners launch recruitment drive for Motor City Makeover

  • Citywide annual cleanup and beautification effort scheduled for Saturdays May 7 – June 18
  • City also promotes beautification and recycling

The City of Detroit Department of Neighborhoods, community, and business partners kicked off Motor City Makeover, the City’s annual cleanup, and beautification effort, on April 22 with an emphasis on beautification and recycling. 

The kickoff announcement on April 22 at 10:30AM at Bushnell Congregational Church coincided with a cleanup in several locations along the Southfield Service Drive that day from 10AM – 2PM  Residents were expected to clean vacant lots at 11741 Southfield, 6738 Ashton and 6746 Ashton.

The City is calling on residents, community organizations, business owners and students to join the effort to clean and beautify the city during on seven Saturdays in May and June.  Cleaning will take place by districts on:

  • District 1 – May 7
  • District 2 – May 14
  • District 3 – May 21
  • District 4 – May 28
  • District 5 – June 4
  • District 6 – June 11
  • District 7 – June 1

Volunteers can sign up at www.motorcitymakeover.org, or by calling 313-224-4415

In addition to the citywide cleanup, the City will focus on:

June - Flower Planting and Beautification Efforts - The Department of Neighborhoods, in partnership with Keep Detroit Beautiful, will give away about 1500 flats of flowers to registered community groups.

Summer/Fall - Cleanup Efforts with Community Groups

The City will provide bags and gloves and arrange for the pickup of debris for groups with cleanup projects outside of May.

Ongoing - Board-ups - The City will continue to provide boards for community groups boarding up vacant homes throughout the year.

Ongoing - Promoting Recycling - The Department of Public Works will provide a free recycling container to residents who attend a recycling workshop or take the recycling quiz on the City’s Web site at www.detroitrecycles.org

"Over the past several years we've made great progress making our city cleaner and more beautiful and a big part of that has been the Motor City Makeover partnership between the City, volunteers and sponsors," said Mayor Mike Duggan.  "Every year our city looks better, and I want to remind residents and businesses that we still need their help to maintain the momentum."

SPONSORS AND DONORS

The City is receiving financial and in-kind donations. Motor City Grounds Crew is the largest in-kind sponsor with $15,000 in heavy equipment and volunteers dedicated to all seven weekends. Other in-kind sponsors include: Greektown Casino with 25 cases of water and 2500 trash bags. The companies making financial contributions include Gandol, $1000, and First Independence $250.

Any organization or company that would like to donate to Motor City Makeover should call (313) 224-3400.

2021 MCM BY THE NUMBERS
  • Individual Volunteers – 5300 Volunteers
  • Tons of Trash Collected – 693 Tons
  • Number of Locations Cleaned – Over 400 cleanup sites
HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Individuals and community groups must register with the City of Detroit Department of Neighborhoods (DON) in order to receive a limited supply of bags and gloves, as well as information regarding special pickups of brush, tires, bagged litter and roll-off containers. Debris will only be collected from pre-established locations.                

Individuals and groups are encouraged to:

  • Register online at motorcitymakeover.org or call (313) 224-4415 to join the effort.
  • Clean around their neighborhood, business, house of worship, or school on their designated Saturday.
  • Organize their neighbors, members or employees for a massive cleanup or to board up vacant homes. Volunteers can indicate where they will clean or do board-ups when registering or call (313) 224-4415 for a location.
  • Beautify their area by planting flowers, plants, or trees, or by removing graffiti, etc.

In addition, volunteers may take bagged litter to any of the drop-off locations listed below, which will be open on the Saturday cleanup dates.  Individuals should contact their District Manager for authorization.

Bulk Drop-Off Locations: The limit is two cubic yards or 1,000 pounds

Davison Yard - 8221 West Davison, 8AM - 6PM
Southfield Yard - 12255 Southfield Road, 8AM - 6PM
J. Fons Transfer Station - 6451 E. McNichols, 8AM - Noon