From trash on the Trinity River’s shore to beautiful runway dresses, the city of Fort Worth brought the community together through the Cowtown Cleanup March 28.
Students picked up trash along the river early in the morning, – closing the event with an Earth Party alongside all the other residents who contributed.
TCC students took part in the event hosted by the city that brought the college closer to its community. Juanica Streicher, an unaffiliated passer-by, approached the students to praise them for making the city a cleaner place.
“They want to clean up, they want to help, and it matters,” Streicher said. “And that just
makes the whole community want to link.”
The students were a small, passionate group and all enthusiastic, doing this out of a genuine care for the environment they live in.
Cody Lindsay, a TR student in the medicine program, spoke about the impact that the college had with these volunteers and how well the student activities coordinator Brittani Schultz did at organizing TR’s portion of the event.
“She was already preparing everybody for the next month of opportunities to come out and serve the community,” Lindsay said. “So I would say it’s a fairly big impact.”
After all the Cowtown Cleanup groups finished, they joined the Earth Party at 11 a.m. with the band Jaybirds playing live, many vendors including a TCC stand and the Trashion Fashion Show.
Second-place winner Melynda Lowe in a chromatic dress walked up the stage with her dog in hand. Shortly after her, best overall winner Shanna Cisneros sported a western
outfit made from the garbage of vices. They would both speak about what this blend of art
and environmentalism meant to them.
“There’s so much litter in the world. We have got to figure out how to start reusing these things so they don’t end up in a landfill,” Cisneros said. “You can make art out of anything.”
This fashion show connected the average citizen to this traditionally more exclusive event, encompassing its ability to bring people together by improving the city through cleaning up, supporting local causes and hosting the local art culture.
“People should be more creative with how they live their lives and look at everything from a different viewpoint,” Lowe said.
