This month, Volunteers Cleaning Communities (VCC) celebrates five years of turning trash pick-up into a movement — and a family.
Founded during the isolation of the pandemic, when Chatsworth resident Jill Mather began collecting bags of litter on her daily walks, VCC has grown from a one-woman effort into a region-wide network of volunteers. What started as “Volunteers Cleaning Chatsworth” now stretches across the San Fernando Valley through the group’s Adopt-A-Highway program and city-street cleanups from North Hollywood to Ventura Boulevard.
Mather calls herself a coordinator, but volunteers say she’s the driving force. “Jill does the work of five people,” one longtime member noted. Her leadership — and her knack for making cleanups social with post-event coffee meetups — has built a corps of people who return again and again. Some have been showing up every week for four years.
The results speak for themselves: since 2020, VCC’s volunteers have removed more than 46,000 contractor bags of trash — about 650,000 pounds — plus illegal dumping debris, graffiti and abandoned encampment materials. The group also runs school litter-scavenger hunts, environmental awareness days and large-scale cleanups for churches, civic groups and businesses.
This coming Saturday, November 8, from 9 to 11 am, VCC will host a community litter pick up event on all of Tampa Avenue, from Rinaldi to Ventura Blvd.
Volunteers are needed – come as an individual or create a team. You must register for the event; sign up at volunteerscleaningcommunities.com.
Recognition has followed. VCC was named “Nonprofit of the Year” in 2022 by State Senator Henry Stern, received multiple honors from city and county officials, and Mather herself was named one of the San Fernando Valley’s “Inspirational Women of the Year” in 2025.
Yet the organization insists the spotlight belongs to its volunteers. People come for the exercise, the chance to give back, and the sense of community — and stay because it’s fun. “We supply the equipment,” Mather said. “All you need to bring is your willingness to help.”
Want to join? VCC welcomes anyone, especially retirees looking for light exercise and new friendships. Each cleanup ends with a coffee break where volunteers relax, chat and build connections — one of the group’s most cherished traditions. Schedules for the next two weeks of cleanups are posted on the VCC website under “Schedule of Events.” Show up a few minutes early, grab a litter picker, and discover how good it feels to make your neighborhood cleaner while making new friends.
