FLINT, MI –The Genesee County Land Bank Authority is set to kick off the 20th season of Clean &
Green this Saturday! Each year community groups work together to combat blight across the city
of Flint, cleaning and clearing thousands of vacant properties each season. Countless stories over
the years have really shown the positive impacts that Clean & Green work has within
neighborhoods. Neighborhoods today feel safe, warm and inviting when years ago they were
overgrown and unmaintained.
This year, from April to September, 66 community-based groups will clean and green 3,500 vacant properties in and around the City of Flint every three weeks. Block-clubs, schools, churches, neighborhood associations, and local non-profits are some of the 66 community-based groups participating in the 2024 Clean & Green program.
Each group receives a stipend for maintaining at least 25 properties every three weeks. Six new groups were selected to participate this season and 60 returning groups. Most of the groups include neighborhood youth, who then create change in their own neighborhoods.
Community groups will receive their materials for the program this Saturday April 20, 2024 at an in person material distribution event. Groups will receive Clean & Green T-shirts, custom yard signs, trash grabbers, program guides and service area maps to assist in their cleaning and greening work.
Clean & Green will officially kick off the season at their digital kick-off event via Zoom on Friday, April 26, 2024. Representatives from each of the Clean & Green groups will gather together virtually to review program information, guidelines and resources.
Residents can anticipate seeing an impact as Clean Green volunteers clean, clear and beautify neighborhoods across the city of Flint. Groups often start with an area wide clean up to prep for regular mowing. Residents are encouraged to connect with local Clean & Green volunteers to support the fight against blight efforts.
Clean & Green work has positive ripple effects within the neighborhoods they work in. making them safer. According to research by the University of Michigan, Youth Violence Prevention Center, Clean & Green maintenance significantly reduces crime. Clean & Green engaged areas compared to street segments with vacant, abandoned lots without Clean & Green activities have: 30 percent fewer assaults, 40 percent fewer violent crimes overall, lower rates of child maltreatment and lower rates of youth gun violence.
Long Term Accomplishments Between 2004 – 2024
• Over 9,000 area local residents and volunteers are estimated to have participated in Clean
& Green over the past 20 years. This includes nearly 4,000 area youth and almost half of those as
employed youth.
• The Land Bank has invested nearly $7 million directly into community-based organizations
through Clean & Green.
• Clean & Green groups have completed more than 330,000 vacant property mowing’s, valued at over $15.5 million.
Clean & Green community groups have planted dozens of gardens over 20 years and decoratively boarded over 600 properties and held countless clean ups.
About the Genesee County Land Bank’s Clean & Green Program
Clean & Green has been a program of the Genesee County Land Bank since 2004. The purpose of the Clean & Green program is to support innovative community groups and organizations in the cleaning, maintaining and beautifying of otherwise vacant properties in Genesee County.
Through the program, community groups seasonally maintain concentrated clusters of vacant properties. Each participating group receives a stipend for maintaining at least 25 properties every three weeks from April to September. Groups are selected to participate in the program through a competitive application process.
The 2024 Clean Green program is supported through grant funding from the Ruth Mott Foundation, the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center and MSHDA through the Hardest Hit Fund. For more information on Clean & Green e-mail cleangreen@thelandbank.org, or call (810) 257-3088 ext. 524.
About the Genesee County Land Bank’s other greening options: Lots Available
While Clean & Green is open to community-based groups only, the Genesee County Land Bank has created options for those who want to green lots held by the Land Bank who are not eligible for Clean & Green, including individual residents. There are three ways that both groups and individual residents can access lots held by the Land Bank: Adopt-A-Lot, Lease-A-Lot and Side Lot sales. For more information on the Land Bank’s Lots Available, visit www.thelandbank.org or visit the office at 452 S. Saginaw St. 2nd Floor, Flint.
