CINCINNATI — No one likes seeing trash piling up along their sidewalks. That's why the nonprofit Keep Cincinnati Beautiful is giving residents a chance to keep their neighborhoods clean.
Madison Lentz is the coordinator for the nonprofit's Adopt-A-Spot program.
The program allows anyone to sign up and adopt an area in the city to help pick up trash and keep clean.
"These streets are our streets," Lentz said.
Lentz said individual residents, businesses and groups can sign up.
It's not just cleaning litter. Lentz said the program also allows for opportunities to clean graffiti and plant greenery.
She said it's a way to grow community by working together.
"There's so much more you can do once the litter and the debris is off the streets," Lentz said.
Learn more about how you can sign up and adopt an area to clean up in the video below:
Those who sign up receive supply kits full of gloves, trash bags and litter sticks for free.
The program has been around since the 1990s.
Lentz said that it was revitalized in 2024 thanks to grants from the city and individual donors.
Darlene Capell told us she adopted a stretch of Carll Street in North Fairmount last year.
"Dumping has been a problem in this neighborhood," Capell said.
Capell said she chose to sign up because she believes a welcoming neighborhood starts with how it looks.
"A clean neighborhood makes crime go down, makes people be prideful in where they live at," Capell said.
Lentz told us signing up is easy.
You can do that by filling out an application on the nonprofit's website. There, you can also find a map and see where more than 350 others have adopted their spots in the city.
"In this past year in 2025, all of our volunteers collectively picked up 30,000 pounds of trash," Lentz said.
Alex wants to hear from you. You can contact him here:
Lentz said keeping the city clean is easier with more hands helping out.
"We're all in this together, and every little bit counts," Lentz said.
