Catasauqua Borough residents were urged to come together and clean up their neighborhoods April 24 as part of the Chalk Your Walk and Clean Up Your Block initiative.

People were asked to clean up their blocks and further beautify them with fun chalk drawings.

The event was organized by Leslie Estrada, Catasauqua High School teacher and Catasauqua Main Streets member, and Jenna Potak, Catasauqua Police Department school resource officer.

Estrada noted Catasauqua Main Streets, the borough’s business organization, does an annual canal cleanup around Earth Day.

“We normally have a pretty good turnout, but last year, it downpoured, and this year, the high school isn’t encouraging students to get together to volunteer due to COVID-19,” Estrada said.

She reached out to Potak about partnering up to plan a socially distanced cleanup event all the students could participate in.

“We figured that if everyone cleaned up trash around their block, the whole town would be nice and clean,” Estrada noted.

The Chalk Your Walk initiative began in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the schools. Catasauqua Area School District SROs Potak and Pat Best started leaving fun and inspirational messages in chalk around the borough to bring cheer to the residents.

Estrada and Potak saw an opportunity to incorporate Chalk Your Walk into the cleanup day, since the weather is warming back up.

“To motivate families to clean up, Officer Potak, my Spanish II students and I are going to paint some rocks to hide around Catasauqua and North Catasauqua,” Estrada said.

The JD Potak Rocks initiative began in September 2020. Potak would paint rocks with cheerful messages and hide them around town to bring a smile to those who find them. People are encouraged to take a photo of the rock and share it to the JD Potak Rocks Facebook page. They can keep the rock or rehide it for someone else to find.

“If people clean up their blocks and send us some pictures on Facebook or via email, we’ll show up and hide a rock somewhere around their block,” Estrada said. “Our hope is that the rocks continue to travel through Catasauqua, the Lehigh Valley and further.”

Estrada noted they reached out to local businesses for support and to help with the cleanup event as well. If they chose to participate, Estrada said they would paint a rock with the business’ logo to hide around town.

According to Estrada, The Elevate Foundation, based in Bethlehem, donated chalk, garbage bags and gloves, which were distributed to some of the student volunteers.

Estrada, Potak and the student volunteers reportedly focused their cleanup efforts around Front and Second streets. She noted they stopped at Candy Cane Park, 714 Second St., to clean and decorate the area with chalk. Additionally, the group cleaned the area next to the municipal complex, 90 Bridge St.

“We didn’t find too much to clean up directly in front of Romero’s, Melvin’s, Blockers, etc. Catasauqua Main Streets has done a great job putting trash cans there,” Estrada said.

Bill Rowe, from The Elevate Foundation, and CHS students Sydney Gebhardt and Taylor Hicks joined Estrada to clean the area around the former Lincoln Middle School, Innovative Arts Academy Charter School and the former International Burgers site.

“We found tons of trash in those areas, especially cigarette butts,” Estrada said. “We’re hoping the businesses in those areas consider putting up cigarette towers after we brought that problem to their attention.”

Presbyterian Church of Catasauqua, 210 Pine St., invited the community to clean up the block and decorate the sidewalks with chalk.

“We stopped by to take pictures and give some JD Potak Rocks to the kids,” Estrada said.

If you’re out and about in the community, be sure to look for the painted rocks. If you happen to see a piece of trash, do your part and pick it up.

“Think green and keep Catty clean,” the group encouraged.