Thuvakkam to relaunch ‘Clean Up After Dark’ today

Thuvakkam invites volunteers to join in for the drive at an old age home in Perungudi on February 28 after 6 p.m.

Chennai-based non-profit Thuvakkam has relaunched its signature initiative ‘Clean Up After Dark’. On February 28, volunteers will gather at Anbusolai old age home in Perungudi.

The essence of this drive: resident-volunteers taking to the streets after evenfall, typically after 6 p.m. and making them squeaky clean, the work continuing till the wee hours of the following day.

Thuvakkam ran ‘Clean Up After Dark’ for close to four years until the pandemic forced it into an extended hibernation. In the pre-pandemic years, the clean-up happened at public spaces including government schools, busy roads and markets, many a time twice a month.

In the Mylapore area, volunteers spruced up bus shelters in Mandaveli, Luz Corner and St Mary’s Road by removing posters, clearing the cobwebs and giving them a fresh coat of paint.

Krishna Kumar Suresh, founder, Thuvakkam, reveals the campaign got this young NGO popular and brought many new volunteers into its fold.

They would combine it with events such as Dhan Utsav to draw volunteers from organisations or neighbourhoods.