Taking a Bite Out of Blight

Educating youth is a big part of Mayor O'Leary's anti-blight plan. Following the example set by PAL, in which children began taking pride in picking up litter instead of just walking past it, the Blight Task Force held an Anti-Blight and Litter Slogan Contest in February.

The winners of the contest were announced and the new slogan and logo were unveiled last week:

Mosies Vega, Rotella Magnet School, Grade 5 - Slogan Contest Winner

Fatime Kaliki, Wallace Middle School, Grade 6 - Slogan Contest Finalist

Katherine Abreu, Crosby High School, Grade 10 - Slogan Contest Finalist

Tye Proctor, Crosby High School, Grade 12 - Logo Design Winner

Photo from Mayor O'Leary's Facebook page.

The slogan and logo will be used in school literature, on posters, t-shirts, bumper stickers, billboards, and city buses.

This is an important step in creating a culture of cleanness. Our city's children are growing up surrounded by blight and litter. Picking up litter is not instinctive. By teaching our children that it's not okay to ignore litter, that keeping things clean is a good thing, they will be less likely to litter, and our city's future will be a little brighter.