Summer Challenge Fun

Wendy Peterseon and Ben Cirrus, who live in Chicago's Lakeshore East neighborhood near Randolph Street and Lake Shore Drive, picked up more than 100 pounds of trash in two litter cleanups in June. Wendy, who serves on the board of the Healthcare Engineers Society of Northern Illinois (HESNI), organizes the cleanups. HESNI is in its fourth year as a sponsor of the Summer Challenge.

"It can be fun. This year we are finding lots of car parts," said Wendy. We picked up along roadsides, near the lakefront and along off-ramps at Lakeshore Drive. We spent two hours just in the Randolph-Lakeshore Drive area. We always pick up lots of glass, aluminum, plastic bottles and all sorts of plastic and paper in all forms including some things I can't even mention."

Wendy and Ben are great examples of how Friends' volunteers can work together, but safely apart, all summer long to create a Litter Free Chicago River. The Summer Challenge combines individual litter cleanups with online educational programming. 

"The Summer Challenge is a great opportunity to be outdoors with your family and your friends to do something good for the environment and your community. It feels great to make a difference and we'll go out again and again all summer."

 Click here to learn more about the upcoming Summer Challenge education programs.

 Friends also has a Litter Free Chicago River Toolkit available to safely organize a litter cleanup.