Volunteers Offer a Helping Hand to Beautify Upper Albany Ave
- May 1
- 3 min read
By Sophia Delis
Hartford, May 1, 2026
Upper Albany avenue in Hartford got a makeover on April 10, as volunteers helped clean up a 1.6 miles stretch along the avenue in an effort to beautify the space. The event was organized by Upper Albany Main Street (UAMS), a non-profit organization that works towards revitalizing the businesses and the community residing here.
“The basis for it is the quality of life not only for residents, but the quality of life for merchants. How do we help with foot traffic into the community that allows the business owners to stay in the community and be profitable? So, under our quality of life initiative, we felt that, it’s springtime, and we need to do some cleaning up,” said Beverly Redd, Executive Director of Upper Albany Main Street.
Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam also joined the other volunteers in their efforts to pick up litter from the street. Volunteers continued to contribute by adding new mulch and planting flowers in the flower beds along the avenue. Many other organizations such as the University of Hartford, Advocacy to Legacy, Hartford Public Library, Knox, and Clay Arsenal NRZ partnered with UAMS for this event.
The efforts were also supported by some small business owners in the area. While not being able to leave their shops for the day, merchants donated mulch for the volunteers to use, and some even offered discounts for the day. The Rainbow Variety store at 1135 Albany Ave offered volunteers free water and snacks as they passed by.
An offshoot of the Community Volunteer Day included presentations made by organizations such as Advocacy to Legacy and Abel Counseling, about important issues impacting the community. Representatives from these organizations spoke on topics such as the effects of thirdhand smoking and grief counseling.
The Community Volunteer day is only a small part of what UAMS does, as the organization also provides many different services to support the community such as offering a digital literacy education program for entrepreneurs, economic development opportunities, and overall community empowerment through many different events and initiatives.
In their monthly design committee meetings, where initiatives like the Community Volunteer Day are discussed, UAMS provides the local community a platform to voice their grievances and celebrate their success stories.
The day was a part of a larger initiative from organizations like UAMS to support the community in Hartford, as Redd who organizes and leads these initiatives said, “You can’t have a community without people, you can’t have a community without neighbors, you can’t have a community without food, and you want to go to the local store, you don't want to have to drive so far to get something if it’s in your neighborhood."
University of Hartford's Helping Hawks volunteers were also in attendance, as a part of the 17th Annual Day of Service initiative, where volunteers help around the university as well as in the Hartford community. Redd and other volunteers know the importance of giving back and being a part of the community you live in, instead of simply living in it.
Kevin Walsh, a Helping Hawks volunteer said, “I think it’s important to give back. President Ward speaks a lot about carrying the name of Hartford and our university’s name, and we should have an impact on the community in Hartford, so I think it’s important for us to be here, present in the community that we serve, and be helping out and making sure that the community is served well by us.”
While volunteers started at the Handel Performing Arts Center and continued down Albany Ave, the efforts didn't stop there. “We’ll keep going until we get to Irving street- I don’t know how long it’ll take us to get there, but we’ll keep going,” said Redd.
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