After pausing for ten months due to COVID-19, a meaningful program is back up and running with safety precautions in place. Pocono Community Caring Company, commonly called Pocono 3C, employs the homeless and individuals at-risk of becoming homeless to clean litter from side and main roads throughout Monroe County. Within the first two sessions since resuming the program, employees collected 78 bags of trash from 69 miles of roadway.
Pocono 3C is a partnership between the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, RHD’s Street2Feet, and the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority. Employees receive a $50 gift card at the end of each shift to buy essential items such as food, clothes, and medication. Since the program launched in June 2019, at least 26 crew members have saved enough money to secure their own apartment, while others found full-time employment.
“We are thrilled to have Pocono 3C back in operation,” said Chris Barrett, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau President/CEO. “This initiative keeps the Poconos clean and, most importantly, is changing lives for the better.”
“Without an ID, bank account or address, our homeless clients have difficulty securing employment,” said Leslie Perryman, Director of RHD’s Street2Feet. “Pocono 3C provides meaningful work experience and resume material. Many homeless individuals want to work hard and better their lives, and Pocono 3C is their first step in doing that.”
“We have various volunteer programs dedicated to cleaning litter, but Pocono 3C has out-picked those programs ten-to-one,” said James Lambert, Executive Director of the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority. “Pocono 3C participants are extremely dedicated and committed to what they do.”
Since its inception in June 2019, Pocono 3C has accomplished the following:
- 94 participants,
- removed 5,547 bags of trash,
- including 336 tires,
- from 253 miles of roadway.
Click here to download photos of a recent cleanup on Route 715 and Camelback Road. Please credit images to the Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority.
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Pocono Mountains visitor information is available online at PoconoMountains.com or by phone at (570) 421-5791. Follow @PoconoTourismPR on Twitter to stay current with up-to-date information. Established in 1934, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit membership organization. The PMVB is the official destination marketing organization for the four counties of Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Carbon in Northeastern Pennsylvania.