The Hands On Neighborhoods program, intended to lift up neighborhoods across the county, will be coming to Dunkirk.

Created by the Chautauqua County Land Bank Corp., the program was piloted successfully in Jamestown in 2021.

The Land Bank, in partnership with the city of Dunkirk, and many local organizations are building a coalition of public, private and non-profit volunteers to come together to help clean up several neighborhoods from downtown to the lakefront. These cleanups are just one component of a multi-faceted program under development by the Land Bank.

The Hands On Neighborhoods Dunkirk project launches with its first neighborhood cleanup on Saturday, June 11 from 8 a.m. to noon. Community members and neighborhood residents are encouraged to register to volunteer to clear garbage from the streets and sidewalks in the area between Central Avenue and Main Street, from Lake Shore Drive to Sixth Street. Registration will be set up at Washington Park. T-shirts, masks and gloves will be provided.

Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own rakes or brooms, but tools will be available for lending to those without. An information table will be hosted in the registration area to share program and resource information to residents on various homeownership, healthy housing, and community health topics.

City of Dunkirk and Land Bank representatives will be on hand to answer resident questions and share information, as well.

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged at https://CHQlandbank.org/handson, and you can even request a specific area to clean up! Requests are handled on a first come first serve basis.

“We really hope that residents of the neighborhoods will come out with us to help clean up the streets, and talk with us about their hopes and concerns for their community,” stated Gina Paradis, Executive Director of the Land Bank. “Our intention is to be present with them, build a sense of community, share resources and empower them to work together to strengthen their neighborhoods.”

Program sponsors are currently sought to support the Hands On Neighborhood programs in both Dunkirk and Jamestown. Interested businesses and organizations should contact Aili Makuch at amakuch@chautauqualandbank.org for details. More information on how to support the program can be found on the web site at https://CHQlandbank.org/handson.