Washington, DC

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser joined Anne Stom of Annie’s ACE Hardware store to re-launch the Mayor’s Office of the Clean City’s Adopt-A-Block program, a District program that fosters community involvement in city maintenance. Today’s re-launch is a part of Mayor Bowser’s District-wide week-long spring cleaning campaign which highlights District resources available to help DC residents remove waste; keeping homes and the city clean and healthy to live in.

“Re-launching the District’s Adopt-A-Block program will allow our families and communities in all eight wards to take a more active and visible role in cleaning and greening the District,” said Mayor Bowser. “Sustaining a clean and healthy environment in the District of Columbia has to be a priority, and this program will encourage more people to get involved, while holding them accountable to their adopted neighborhoods.”

The Adopt-A-Block program is made up of District volunteers interested in maintaining, preserving, protecting and beautifying District neighborhoods.

To be a part of the Adopt-A-Block program, volunteer groups must adopt a minimum of 2 square blocks of a residential or commercial area in the District of Columbia; including the alleys within the blocks and both sides of all streets in the adopted area. Additionally, groups must agree to “clean and green” the adopted area at least once every three months for a 2-year period by conducting a clean-up day that gets the community involved. More active involvement is encouraged.

The program is open to citizens who live, own or rent property, attend school or a religious institution, or are affiliated with an Advisory Neighborhood Commission, Citizens' Advisory Council, or community group in the District of Columbia.

For residential areas, preference is given to residents living in the area proposed for adoption. For more information on the Adopt-A-Block program, interested parties can visit Adopt-A-Block or contact the Mayor’s Office of the Clean City at (202) 802-6225.

The full schedule of events for the District-wide cleaning campaign is included below.

Wednesday, April 27 at 11 am – AlleyPalooza

Mayor Bowser and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Leif Dormsjo will kick-off this year’s AlleyPalooza, the District’s city-wide campaign to repair or renovate 64 alleys throughout the District – eight in each of the District’s eight wards. More information about AlleyPalooza is available at ddot.dc.gov/alleypalooza.

Location: 303 54th Street, NE
*Bus Lines: 96, 97, W4*

Thursday, April 28 at 10:30 am – Launch DOH Public Health Pilot Program

Mayor Bowser, DPW Director Christopher Shorter, and Department of Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt will meet with business owners to launch a pilot rodent abatement program.

Starting Location: Spring Mill Bread Co.
701 8th Street, SE
*Closest Metro: Eastern Market Metro Station*

Friday, April 29 at 11:30 am – Tree Planting

Mayor Bowser and DDOT Director Leif Dormsjo will participate in Ketcham Elementary School’s Arbor Day Celebration. The celebration includes tree planting education and placement in honor of Arbor Day.

Location: Ketcham Elementary School
1919 15th Street, SE
*Bus Lines: 92, V5*

The District-wide spring cleaning campaign comes ahead of Arbor Day and on the heels of Earth Day, which encourages residents to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Press interested in attending any of the events are asked to RSVP to [email protected].