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With her braids pulled back, working gloves on and a large black trash bag in hand, Lundyn Roberson joined her fellow Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center Upward Bound classmates on Friday, June 23 in picking up garbage along St. Clair Ave. in East St. Louis. 

“Picking up trash is good for the community,” said Roberson, 17-year-old SIUE Upward Bound BEM senior. “I don’t like streets or neighborhoods that are full of trash, and I don’t litter.” 

Upward Bound, partnering with the East St. Louis Public Works Department, began the Clean Up East St. Louis project, which runs from June 16-July 7. Each Friday, junior and seniors in the program clean up debris on St. Clair Ave. from Ninth St. to 25^th St., according to Gregory Laktzian, who was helping supervise the endeavor on June 23. 

On June 23, students also cleaned up the land where East St. Louis’ Welcome Sign stands, at St. Clair Ave. and Baugh Ave. The City of East St. Louis held a soul/jazz/gospel concert on the property on Sunday, June 25. 

“The clean-up project was my idea,” said Javonda Quinn, program director for Upward Bound EC/BEM. “Many times, students need community service hours for high school credit and college preparation. The project was also an opportunity for our program to collaborate with the City of East St. Louis to bring about positive change in the community.” 

Rescuing such trash as broken bottles, empty soft drink bottles and fast food sandwich wrappers from grass, sidewalks and streets were Upward Bound BEM students 17-year-old Javon Watkins and 16-year-old Seth Luster. 

“I pick up trash at home,” said Watkins. “If things are dirty, I’m going to help clean it up.” 

“I’m used to cleaning up,” said Luster. “I grew up with my mother (Kim McClellan, project specialist at SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start) teaching me that we all need to be responsible and help make our community better. My mother also runs an Earth Day program in the area that focuses on the importance of protecting the environment.” 

Mya Gilmore, 18-year-old Upward Bound EC student, who attends Cahokia High School, spent an afternoon in the hot sun picking up trash and helping beautify East St. Louis. 

“I have helped clean up streets in Cahokia, and I wanted to help Upward Bound, because I care about the East St. Louis community and Upward Bound,” she said. “Upward Bound has helped us get ready for college, so I felt like this was something I could do to help a program that has been so beneficial to us.” 

Upward Bound helps youth prepare for higher education and serves students from East St. Louis and Cahokia (EC), and Brooklyn, East St. Louis Charter and Madison (BEM), High Schools. Participants receive instruction in literature, composition and STEM subjects on college campuses after school, on Saturdays and during the summer. 

With a focus on empowering people and strengthening communities, the SIUE East St. Louis Center is dedicated to improving the lives of families and individuals - from pre-school through adult - in the Metro East. Head Start/Early Head Start and a charter high school are among the programs that offer the community renewed hope and an opportunity to reach educational, career and life goals. The Center also assigns first priority to encouraging, supporting and improving the educational success of the residents of East St. Louis and surrounding urban communities. The Center provides comprehensive programs, services and training in the areas of education, health, social services and the arts. 

Photos:
SIUE East St. Louis Center Upward Bound students Edgar Williams (left) and Ashley Harris pick up trash along St. Clair Avenue in East St. Louis. 

Junior and senior Upward Bound students are participating in the Clean Up East St. Louis project in partnership with the East St. Louis Public Works Department. Pictured on top row from left to right: Ashley Harris, Lundyn Roberson, Devin Addison, Javon Watkins, Seth Luster, Marjae Ward, Allen Williams and Edgar Williams. Bottom row from left to right: Thomas Dewalt, Mya Gilmore, Gabrielle Flowers, Mokicia Hammond, Jeremyia Merritt and Dujuan Burton.