Rush hour traffic jams, a loud environment and bits of trash in the street have long been widely understood drawbacks of city life. According to Matt Apple and the rest of Walking for Rochester, at least one of these issues is fixable — and represents an opportunity for the community to support a common goal.
“We’ve had over 900 attendees at these events, and we’ve had a collection of over 11,000 pounds [of litter],” said Apple, CEO and founder of the local nonprofit, which aims to eventually keep Rochester completely litter-free.
Walking for Rochester was founded in 2020; since then, their yearly cleanups have grown from seven per year to about 150. Though they started small, they now conduct sessions city-wide.
Each cleanup is an hour long. Due to cold Rochester winters, events run from April 1 to Sept. 30, with an additional litter seminar usually held in February to discuss strategies and how things are going. No equipment is needed to participate — Walking for Rochester provides colorful litter buckets, handheld trash grabbers, gloves and safety training. At the end of the hour, the collected trash is weighed, and that weight is added to the total collected amount for the year. Additionally, one of the participating volunteers is selected as the winner of a free raffle.
Walking for Rochester also occasionally holds social events. Volunteers start by collecting litter for the usual hour, but then are encouraged to stay longer to eat, get to know one another and enjoy themselves.
“This is a really easy way for people to come out and to give back to something, and to feel like they’re a part of something,” said Apple. He described how he hopes the cause will continue to grow and reach more community members.
“Super Jo”
While new volunteers are always welcome, some community members, like “Super Jo,” have already been participating for half a decade. Jo “Super Jo” Yokatjy found Walking for Rochester on Facebook when he saw that they were planning a pickup in his neighborhood. He joined shortly after and has been a part of the organization ever since.
Yokajty is well known for his particularly efficient method of collecting litter, filling up trash bags with an ease that can only be learned through years of practice. With a strong belief in the potential for a litter-free Rochester, he tries to make it out fairly often to lend a helping hand.
“It’s a great goal,” Yokajty explained. “And turns out every year, we keep doubling the amount of litter — at least — that we collected the previous year.”
Yokajty encourages folks to come to a banquet and silent auction fundraiser that is often held in the fall, as well as to the normal cleanup events.
“If you take any pride in Rochester, you should come out and join this.”
A Litter-Free Legacy
Max Apple, Matt Apple’s son, has also been a part of the project since its inception. Matt Apple cited Max as one of the motivations for starting the nonprofit, explaining that as a Rochester native, it means a lot to him to be able to build a cleaner city for his son to grow up in.
Max was about four years old when Walking for Rochester began. He often tags along with his dad during events, helps move equipment into the Walking for Rochester van at the end of the hour and picks up litter along with other volunteers.
A reference to the father and son can be found in the Walking for Rochester logo. A green silhouette in the background outlines an adult carrying a child, an image intended to represent the father-son duo.
Opportunities to Participate
For those who may wish to join the city-wide cleanup, there are a few places to start. The Walking for Rochester website features a comprehensive list of litter collection sessions, although Matt Apple stated they generally do not hold them in the winter due to cold weather.
Those who may wish to do a solo cleaning session can use the Walking for Rochester app to log the weight and location of the litter they collect. App users can also mark where litter needs to be collected. This helps Walking for Rochester keep track of what parts of Rochester are well covered, and where they may need to focus more attention.
Those who wish to follow Jo “Super Jo” Yokajty’s recommendation to come to the banquet and silent auction fundraiser can attend Thursday, Oct. 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Casablanca Room at ARTISANworks. Tickets can be purchased on the Walking for Rochester website.
Those searching for additional information or opportunities should contact Walking for Rochester directly at 585-577-4820 or info@WalkingForRochester.org.
