1) Clean Memphis is a nonprofit organization founded in 2008 by Janet Boscarino that coordinates volunteer cleanups and environmental projects around Memphis. 2) The organization divides Memphis into zones and partners with local businesses, schools, and community groups in each zone to organize regular cleanup events and recycling programs. 3) Clean Memphis works with a range of volunteers including students and corporate partners like Coca-Cola to improve the environment in Memphis neighborhoods.

1. 4 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 28, 2010 commercialappeal.com
Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal files
Janet Boscarino, founder of Clean Memphis.
Cleaning and greening
By Suzanne Thompson Clean who is one of the organization’s
Special to Going Green
Memphis four board members. As far as
the staff, Boscarino is it. She
From tree planting events brings handles everything at Clean
to coordinating community volunteers Memphis, which she calls a
cleanup projects, Janet together community organizing, grass-
Boscarino, director of Clean roots facilitator.
Memphis, is ready to get the “The main goal is to engage
ball rolling. citizens, businesses, churches and
Boscarino co-founded Clean schools to take a larger role in
Memphis, a nonprofit organization, in cleaning and greening their
August 2008, along with Mark Lovell, environments,” she said.

2. The Commercial Appeal Sunday, March 28, 2010 | GOING GREEN 5
“You may not be able to reduce crime or bring jobs to the
city, but whether you are 5 or 65, you can help clean up
in your neighborhood.”
JANET BOSCARINO
founder of Clean Memphis
To accomplish this, not only from a litter Cargill, Coca-Cola
Clean Memphis divided standpoint, but because Bottling Co.,
the city into 31 zones, it’s an issue ClearChannel Outdoor,
with additional zones environmentally.” ParkIt Here and PepsiCo
outside the city limits. Clean Memphis, along are among the corporate
“The idea was to create with its corporate and partners.
this cohesive group of community partners, Larry Krebs, manager
businesses, churches, holds environmental fairs of corporate responsibility
schools and and cleanups periodically. and sustainability for
neighborhoods to do at Some of the community Coca-Cola, said it was a
least quarterly cleanup partners include Memphis Wolf River cleanup
events, work on recycling, City Beautiful, The Wolf project that first drew his
just anything and River Conservancy and interest in sponsoring
everything to improve the Storm Water Division Clean Memphis.
their communities,” of Memphis Light, Gas “Water being such an
Boscarino said. and Water Division. integral part of our
The “greening up,”
refers not only to
beautification projects
such as tree planting but
also to educating
community members
about storm water issues,
raising awareness about
recycling and helping
schools start recycling
programs.
“All the trash and
leaves and debris that go
into storm water drains
go into creeks and
streams, and end up in
the Wolf River,” Boscarino said Clean Memphis organizes a
Boscarino said. “That’s community cleanup somewhere in the Memphis
an issue in and of itself, area on most Saturdays.

3. 6 GOING GREEN | Sunday, March 28, 2010 commercialappeal.com
Memphis
Grizzlies star
O.J. Mayo
hoists a bag
of leaves onto
a truck during
a Downtown
cleanup
sponsored by
Clean
Memphis and
the Grizzlies
Academy last
November.
Brad Luttrell/
The Commercial
Appeal files
product, that’s a huge focus of ours, just as “We keep up with volunteer service
a company in general. Water conservancy hours, so a lot of kids who are involved
and anything related to that is something in clubs need those,” Boscarino said.
that we are very interested in,” he said. Clean Memphis works with college
In the six months since Coca-Cola students, too. One of the zones, known
started partnering with Clean Memphis, as the LOC Collaborative, is in the
it has sponsored five or six events, LeMoyne-Owen College area and its
Krebs said, which equates to about 400 members meet monthly to discuss
volunteer hours of work. concerns including litter, code issues
Clean Memphis works with students, and crime. Clean Memphis helps them
to try to get them involved in cleanup organize ongoing cleanup events.
projects organized around their schools Boscarino said it’s important to Clean
and to promote good stewardship. Memphis that the groups remain organic
The group has worked with about 15 — made up of people who live or work
Memphis City Schools, including in the communities in which the groups
Central and Frayser high schools and operate.
Cypress Middle School. “It means more to them and will be
To mark this year’s Earth Day more sustainable that way,” she said.
observance, environmental fairs will be “We help neighborhoods come together,
held at two middle schools — at Airways but we don’t want to run the show for
Middle on April 21 and at Cypress them. We want to help them, guide
Middle on April 22. them, get them organized, expand their
Clean Memphis also helps coordinate volunteer base, educate them, but at the
volunteer cleanups with students from end of the day, we want them to be able
private schools. to do what needs to be done.”