CREATING A CITYWIDE MOVEMENT BY PICKING UP LITTER

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Christina Porter. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Christina Porter knows that her city has a litter program. That’s why she’s dedicated to doing something about it.

An Oakland native, Christina has tremendous pride in her hometown, and is constantly working to make it better. From a young age, she was inspired to eradicate litter from her community. In the present day, Christina sees the influence that litter and pollution has on Oakland, from garbage on the streets as parents walk their children to school to a serious illegal dumping issue. But she also sees the potential in changing it for the better.

Christina is the board chair of Keep Oakland Beautiful, which works to create and sustain a clean, green, litter-free Oakland through education, community engagement and volunteer action. One of 800 organizations across the country that is affiliated with Keep America Beautiful, the Oakland chapter has thrived under Christina’s leadership, expanding its reach from traditional efforts to more proactive and generative projects.

These include planting 2,000 trees to combat climate change and awarding 50 community grants that extend the impact of the organization’s mission beyond the board members. Public art projects illuminate formerly abandoned public spaces, and an “adoption” program allows residents to care for select spots in the community, like a drain or a trash receptacle.

While picking up litter is an important piece of Christina’s work, it’s also just one component of it. Christina is a steadfast believer that the influence of beautifying one’s city goes far beyond just making it look good. In fact, it’s a vital part of our overall health and wellbeing. Christina notes that data shows how community cleanups are linked to better health and quality of life, especially in communities of color. This is particularly true in an era when loneliness is everywhere. Bringing people together to improve their community affects us all for the better.

Despite her major accomplishments, Christina still believes in her original message to start small by picking up a single piece of litter that you come across on a walk. Her dedication to the idea that even the smallest task can better our community is a powerful testament to the idea that volunteering can take any shape and form.

What inspires you to volunteer?

When you ask people to volunteer, you’re asking them to be optimistic about a future they can’t see. You’re out there doing all these things, but you don’t know if they are ever going to happen. My vision is for a world with zero litter. I know that’s just a vision, but then it’s about how you inspire others to align with your mission. We protect what we love. I really love the idea that when we care about something, we do everything that we can to show it and to live it each day.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

I was a child growing up at a time when there was Woodsy Owl, the character used by the United States Forest Service that encouraged children to form healthy relationships with nature. I was anti-litter at age seven. It started as a kid and evolved into wanting to help my community more formally in adulthood. The city of Oakland has a formal adopt-a-spot program, where you can maintain a public area and be an adopt-a-spot owner, so that was how I got started into the world of really keeping my city beautiful.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Keep Oakland Beautiful.

I’m the board chair, which means that I’m responsible for everything that the board does in terms of making sure that we achieve our mission of keeping our city clean, green and litter-free. Then there’s all of the day-to-day operations, like making sure that the board is doing all the things that are in our charter and bylaws. I’m responsible for pretty much everything for Keep Oakland Beautiful. Our board members run and support our cleanup events, annual programs and community initiatives.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

I want Keep Oakland Beautiful to be the very first place that everybody in the city turns to when they want to do something beautiful in the city, whether it’s picking up trash or installing a mural or converting an abandoned lot into a beautiful garden oasis. I would like for us to be that first place that people turn to. If I had to visualize what that looks like, it would almost be like we have a building that’s called the Keep Oakland Beautiful Greening Center, and people can walk in and get help and go out and be empowered and get all the tools that they need to beautify their community.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

When we hear the community tell us the impact our support has made in their communities. Every month during our board meeting, I like to share community kudos, because through our grants program, we’re giving out funding to communities. They’re saying things to us like we’re helping make their community safer. Being able to bring it back to the most fundamental wellbeing makes a big difference for us. When they’re telling us they’re able to install flowers and that they’re having less graffiti or illegal dumping. Hearing the voices of the community and the change that they’re making, that’s what really makes it all worth it to us.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

You need to be grateful to everybody that is out there doing the work every day. As a volunteer, you’re not getting paid. You’re being asked to give up your time, your energy, your resources and your money. Just be grateful to all the volunteers. As a volunteer you like to be recognized.

As the chair of the board, I just recognize people. I am still a volunteer. Make sure you’re thanking them as many times as you can, because we’re only as strong as the work of the volunteers that are out there, and they need to feel like they’re doing good work too. Express gratitude every single day.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

To be able to connect people with each other. To help them understand that we can’t rely on others to do the work. It’s on us. We have to be that change that we want to see. We can’t rely on the government to do everything. Our city government is always stretched for resources.

There’s always more work than there is money or other resources. It’s on us.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

We’re one of 800 organizations across the country that are doing this work. In 2026, the United States is celebrating its 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which is a once-in-a-generation time for all of us to come together and celebrate the proud legacy of our nation. Our goal is to pick up 25 billion pieces of litter and beautify 25,000 communities across the country between now and next Independence Day. I really want folks to just pick up one piece of trash. Just start by picking up one piece of litter in your community, and then pick up two, and then pick up three. Keep going, because through this movement, we know we’re not alone. We’re all in this together.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Christina? Find local volunteer opportunities.