Q & A: Moms Adopt-A-Spot In Ansonia

A before and after photograph, taken from the Ansonia community page on Facebook.

The City of Ansonia launched an ​“adopt-a-spot” program in June.

The public or merchants can sponsor a spot to clean. 

Click here for more information on the program.

The Valley Indy emailed Nicole Ann Souza and Erin Clifford, two residents who volunteered to clean up a traffic island near the Prendergast school.

Valley Independent Sentinel: What made you volunteer in Ansonia’s adopt-a-spot program?

Nicole Ann Souza: ​“I volunteered because I was excited about the idea to do something together with two of my very good friends and make a small difference in our town. 

Erin saw the post on the City of Ansonia page, I believe, and asked us if we would be interested in doing this. Our (other) friend couldn’t help us so far due to family obligations, but we hope to get her involved very soon.”

Erin Clifford: ​“I saw the program on one of the city’s Facebook pages, and thought it would be something fun & different to do. I asked my two friends, Nicole and Stacy Lionetti-Hultman, if they wanted to do it with me. They agreed, so we started looking into the program more.” 

VIS: Why did the two of you decide to team up?

Souza: ​“We decided to team up because we participate in all kinds of things together. I’ve been the administrator of the Ansonia Community (Facebook) Page since it started, maybe about three years ago. Erin recently started helping me run the page due to the growth of it. We work well together and she is my best friend.”

VIS: What location did you choose? 

Clifford: ​“We choose the Finney St/Ford St traffic island. We signed up to take care of this area for one year (June 2019).” 

VIS: If I remember correctly, your post on social media included a hashtag mentioning autism? Can you explain the connection?

Souza: ​“Autism is a cause very close to our hearts. Both of our boys have autism. We both have 18 year old sons with autism and they attend school together. 

I also have a 3‑year-old son that was diagnosed recently. We are always looking to spread autism awareness, we participate in autism events, and help anyone that needs it because sometimes autism makes you feel alone. 

Since we are not a business we had to choose a theme or cause as they will be making us a sign with our names to place at our spot. I’m excited to see how it comes out.” 

Clifford: ​“The city doesn’t have much for kids or people with special needs to do. Maybe if we raise more awareness we can get some activities in town (just thinking out loud).”

VIS: Why did you choose that location?

Souza: ​“We were looking for a small spot that we could manage. We like this spot because we plan to decorate for back to school, and some of the other holidays. We hope the kids and teachers will appreciate the brightness and the fun themes.”

Clifford ​“We wanted a high traffic area because our plan was to do an autism awareness theme. Plus the area was a decent size that we figured the three of us would be able to manage (going forward).”

VIS: When did you actually do the clean-up?

Souza: ​“We worked on our spot July 14 and 15. It took us two days and we still have some small things we need to stop by and finish.” 

VIS: What was involved?

Souza: ​“First a plan was made of what our vision was. Then a trip or two to Home Depot. We had to weed the whole area and pick up just a few items of litter. We planted flowers, decorated the flower bed with white rock chips, and laid down I believe 18 bags of fresh red mulch! We added a decorative flag and plan to add some more things in the near future.” 

VIS: How many people helped?

Souza: ​“Erin and I helped each other complete the work.” 

VIS: What did the spot look like when you first arrived?

Souza: ​“It was very brown and blah! I will attach a picture.” 

VIS: What advice would you give to other people thinking about volunteering for the city’s adopt-a-spot program?

Souza: ​“It’s a great way to give back to our community! The best advice I would give is get a group together and enjoy the time spent with your friends making a small difference in the beautification of our small town.”

Clifford: ​“The whole point of the program is to clean up our city. 

Instead of people complaining about what’s not getting done, this is their chance to do something. I would advise people to get involved. It was hard work but fun and fulfilling at the same time. As we were working, so many people stopped and complemented our work, thanked us, and offered us water. I hope this program is successful and is able to carry on in the future.” 

VIS: Roughly how much did it cost?

Souza: “ I believe it cost us around $200 for the supplies we used.”

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