Program Manager of Clean Corps, Maddy Silberger-Franek, is proud of this year’s accomplishments. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Nate Leighton (left) of Citizens of Pigtown neighborhood association, Devin Sanders a resident of Pigtown (right) and Tracey Garrett Rogers, of the Cherry Hill community, catch up at the celebration. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Akewi Barnes, of Bmore Rap Review, has a quick bite before documenting the festivities. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Community Advocate for the Oliver neighborhood Audrey Carter (left); Clean Team Coordinator Keith Hammond and Rebuild Johnston Square Executive Director Regina Hammond (back, right) fellowship with each other before the event officially begins. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Audrey Carter, the community advocate for the Oliver neighborhood, beams at the camera. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
The end-of-summer celebration for the Clean Community Challenge takes place Oct. 3, Parkies Lakeside Pavilion in Druid Hill Park Gazebo. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Natasha Neal (left), of Clean Corps, enjoys the good food from Jerk Pit with her son, Keaton Satterfield. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Georgians Johnson makes an appearance at the Clean Community Challenge’s end-of-summer celebration. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Audrey Carter and the other patrons enjoy some of the delicious food from Jerk Pit in College Park. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Janet Bailey, of the Laburt Improvement Community Association, smiles with her “Small but Mighty” award. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Deyane Moses, director of programs and partnerships for Afro Charities, smiles with the parrot, Mr. Wilson, on her shoulder. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Lisa Edmonds, of Dolly Park, smiles with her “Best Community Glo Up” award. She and her family created a butterfly garden in their neighborhood. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Keysha Fearon, affectionately known as “Coach K,” represents the Forest Park High School community as she accepts the “Youth Power Prize” award on behalf of Lisa Mitchell. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Forest Park High School won the “Youth Power Prize 2025: Clean Community Challenge.” (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Nichole Stewart, assistant director for the Department of Planning, smiles at the camera. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Lakeside view of Druid Hill and the Reservoir Hill community. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Nichole Stewart (left), Lisa Edmonds, Keysha Fearon, Janet Bailey Keysha Fearon, Maddy Silberger-Franek and Dayane Moses. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo) 
Up close shot of Keysha Fearon holding the award next to jewelry honoring her mother. (AFRO Photo/ Nyame-Kye Kondo)
By Andrea Stevens
AFRO Staff Writer
astevens@afro.com
A new initiative has revived the spirit of a historic Baltimore City tradition while empowering residents to take ownership of the cleanliness of their blocks. The Clean Community Challenge, launched by Baltimore’s Department of Planning through its Clean Corps program, recently funded 27 community-led beautification projects across 24 neighborhoods, with the goal of restoring public spaces and strengthening local pride.
Clean Corps maintains public spaces in 42 Baltimore neighborhoods and hires local workers to clean alleys, maintain lots and improve street fronts year-round. The Clean Community Challenge is inspired by the AFRO Clean Block program, which was founded in 1934 by Frances Louise Murphy, and is a longtime staple in Baltimore’s community organizing history. Maddy Franeck, Clean Corps’ program manager said the most recent iteration of the AFRO Clean Block initiative came from community requests. Residents were seeking a program that would inspire community members to keep their neighborhoods clean.
“We attend a lot of community association meetings, and at several of them, residents brought up AFRO Clean Block and asked if we could bring something like it back,” said Franeck. “We listened. People wanted a program that would build pride and friendly competition. That’s how the Clean Community Challenge started.”
The Clean Community Challenge provides grants for residents and local leaders within those neighborhoods to lead their own summer projects.
“It’s been really inspiring to see people use this opportunity to transform long-neglected spaces,” said Franeck. “Some are turning vacant lots into gathering places. Others are paying people who have been cleaning on their own for years. The creativity is amazing.”
“We spread the word through our regular community leader meetings and by attending neighborhood association gatherings,” she said. “It was very grassroots and relationship-based.”
Each project was evaluated through a two-part process: a written narrative from the project coordinators and a scoring rubric co-designed by Clean Corps, Afro Charities and Be More Beautiful, part of the Environmental Control Board.
“In the narrative, we ask: How many volunteers did you work with? Were youth involved? What were your challenges and accomplishments?” Franeck said. “It’s about telling the story of what happened this summer.”
The rubric added structure and scored projects on impact, creativity, youth leadership and long-term vision. On Oct. 3, three winners for this year’s challenge were announced. The “Small But Mighty” award went to Janet Bailey. At the event, Keysha Fearon accepted the “Youth Power Prize” award on behalf of the students of Forest Park High School and Lisa Murphy-Mitchell. The “Best Community Glo-Up” award went to Lisa Edmonds.
Janet Bailey set up a community refrigerator that she maintains with the help of local young men and grants from Clean Corp. Though the competition is over, she has high hopes that her initiative will continue to serve the community.
“We want to keep maintaining this — to continue the beauty and the cleanliness and make it feel safer, cleaner and better,” she said. “It brings more positive vibes and energy to a community. The best award isn’t the grants or the recognition, it’s having a clean community.”
Bernard Haynes, a community leader and participant in the Clean Community Challenge, led one of the projects through his organization The Community Group Inc.
“We found out about the Challenge at a community meeting with Maddy,” he said. “We knew right away we had to be part of it. It aligned perfectly with our mission of mentoring and empowering youth.”
Haynes said young people were central to the project’s success.
“We used this as a hands-on lesson about leadership and responsibility. Watching them take initiative, work together and actually enjoy giving back—it was powerful,” Haynes said. “It wasn’t just about cleaning up. It was about building a real community.”
“Some of our teens told us this was the first time they felt like they could make a real difference,” Haynes added. “That’s something they’ll carry with them.”
For Lisa Edmonds, another challenge winner, the experience has been just as personal.
“The Clean Community Challenge has been a great experience for me and my entire family,” she said. “Miss Pauline Charles, our community leader and an official ‘guardian’ of Baltimore, asked if I had any suggestions for an empty lot at the entrance of our neighborhood. I remembered seeing ‘Flight of the Butterflies’ at the Maryland Science Center and offered that as a project. She loved the idea and said to run with it.”
Franeck hopes this is just the beginning.
“This is our first year doing the Challenge, and we’d love to bring it back every summer,” she said. “It’s proof that when you give communities the tools and trust, they’ll build something lasting.”