Not long ago, I heard about a group of twentysomethings taking an unusual road trip across the country, and I was immediately intrigued.
Pick Up America is a group of six young adults making a trip across the United States picking up garbage as well as educating others along the way. This is the nation’s first coast-to-coast roadside litter pickup.
Davey Rogner, Pick Up America’s campaign director and co-founder, filled me in over the phone on the group’s progress and goals while taking a break for the winter in Last Chance, Colo.
“The original idea was to walk across (the) country for the experience and to give back by doing something that we know we can have an impact on,” he said.
Rogner and co-founder Jeff Chen met while attending the University of Maryland.
“We both shared the same passion and felt we needed to do something that we could actually affect,” said Rogner.
The volunteers, also known as the Pick Up Artists, started off in Assateague Island, Md., in March 2010 and plan to end their trip in San Francisco.
“After the winter, we’ll start on March 4 in Grand Junction, Colo.,” Rogner said. “We’ll go through the desert as well as the Rockies and end up in California in the fall of 2012.”
While on the road, the Pick Up Artists gather an average of 85 pounds a day. They never travel on interstates and stick to secondary roads that run through the main streets in towns along the way.
“People really want to be a part of this; we’ve had a lot of volunteers come out as this is a great program that allows people to join in and help,” said Rogner.
The vehicle that gets the crew around and also acts as home while on the road is a school bus that runs off of used vegetable oil. While traveling cross country, Rogner and his crew have seen it all.
“The strangest thing I have ever seen was a strangled chicken in a shoe box, but we see a lot of beer cans, chip bags and have even seen a few blow-up dolls,” he shared.
“We live in a disposable society where we use something only once and then throw it away,” said Rogner. “Our hope is to educate individuals on the importance of taking care of our environment.”
By following their hearts, Pick Up America is cleaning up the country one mile at a time and inspiring others to get involved in any way they can.
For more information on Pick Up America, visit pickupamerica.org.
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