New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has raised the bar for community service in a joint effort with St. Benedict’s Gray Bee Ministry through a program to clean up local streets.
The community clean-up program was initiated in 2022 after Sebastian Fine took charge. The community clean-up program’s goal is to “incrementally demonstrate” the union of the community through the improvement of the environment and taking steps to address concerns like litter reduction. With a modest five attendees at the first clean-up project, the clean-up initiative started to engage residents of Newark. With consistent outreach and collaboration, the Saturday clean-ups progressively moved outside of NJIT,
Newark’s environmental landscape is transformed by collective group efforts. Ranked fourth in pollution nationwide, the city combats contamination challenges head-on. The creation of the community clean-up has been an effective method to combat this danger. Weakly clean-ups bring volunteers together, fostering community pride and progression. “It’s nice to walk through an area and notice that it is cleaner because of the community clean-ups,” states Sabrina Gerace, future president of the NHRR program, communicating the volunteer’s sincere will to participate. The Gray Bee Ministry’s commitment to serving the community reflects the Rule of Benedict’s emphasis on community and care for the environment. By embracing this ideology, Gray Bee Ministry and NJIT are working to develop a culture of integrity and engagement in the community.
During the first clean-up collaboration on Oct. 12, 2024, 34 NJIT and four Gray Bee Ministry students, along with Br. Thomas Hall, OSB, removed 91.1 lbs. of trash from Downtown Newark. This initiative embodies the philosophy of Fine, one of the heads of the event and leader of the NHRR (National Residence Hall Honorary), who believes “Anyone, anytime, and anywhere can form a community to bring about change… through the internal agreements you make with yourself that define how you are willing or resistant to change.”
As Fine noted earlier, “It is through the internal agreements you make with yourself that define how you are willing or resistant to change.” With this in mind, people are uniting to address Newark’s environmental problems. Through clean-up, volunteers remove hundreds of pounds of trash beautifying public spaces and Newark streets. As Marko Torres ‘28, a member of Gray Bee Ministry, remarks “Trash was picked up, and a difference was made.”
