PCR brings volunteers together for It’s My Park

Rocío Gómez

PCR brings volunteers together for It’s My Park
Youth volunteers with Parent-Child Relationship Association hold handmade signs during an It’s My Park cleanup event in Sunset Park. Photo courtesy of Parent-Child Relationship Association via Brooklyn Org

To help clean up Sunset Park as summer begins, City Parks Foundation and Parent-Child Relationship Association (PCR) are bringing families and other volunteers together to pick up trash and care for the park.

This year’s citywide It’s My Park cleanup season kicked off in May and continues through the summer, with volunteer events held across New York City parks. On Tuesday, June 23, the Sunset Post attended one of the cleanup days dedicated to Sunset Park.

Volunteers gathered at the Sunset Park Recreation Center shortly after 10 a.m. Despite unpredictable weather, volunteers, parents and children arrived wearing work shirts and carrying cleanup tools.

“It is something you do from the heart for the community,” said Chan, a volunteer with PCR, one of the event organizers.

Chan, who immigrated to the United States when she was 13, said caring for green spaces is deeply important to her.

“In Asian culture, we value nature and green spaces,” Chan said. “It is our duty to take care of them.”

During the first hours of the event, volunteers picked up trash left around the park. Papers, bottles and other debris filled their garbage bags, which were stacked near trash cans throughout the morning.

“I come to this park with my daughter often, so it is gratifying to see people from the neighborhood cleaning it,” said Hector, a Sunset Park resident. He said initiatives like this help make the neighborhood better.

Alongside NYC Parks workers, who collect the bags after the event, PCR is one of the pillars of the cleanup effort. The association promotes services, programs and resources that support immigrant families in the neighborhood, while also encouraging strong community relationships, a sense of belonging and knowledge of social and civic norms.

“Our vision is to create a community where immigrant families are empowered to thrive and feel like they belong to American society,” Tina Chen, program coordinator for PCR, told Brooklyn Org.

With that philosophy, volunteers participating in the It’s My Park events are working in Sunset Park to make the park a better space for everyone.

The initiative will continue regularly throughout the summer, with upcoming Sunset Park cleanups scheduled for Sunday, June 28, Tuesday, June 30, and Tuesday, July 14, all from 10 a.m. to noon.