Rich Guffanti and Andrew Wheeler, two longtime West Philadelphia residents, noticed an issue in their local park: trash, and a lot of it. So the pair decided to join forces to clean it up. By 2018, Rich and Andrew had begun hosting weekly cleanups in the area – but they soon realized they couldn’t do it alone.
That’s when the idea of Cobbs Creek Park Ambassadors was born. Rich and Andrew started to enlist neighbors to adopt three-block sections of the park and empower them to lead regular cleanups in their respective zones.
The first Ambassador joined the team in 2020. Today, we are 10 strong.
Our mission is to clean and care for Cobbs Creek Park, but our efforts extend beyond picking up litter from the streets, sidewalks, and waterways. We strive to cultivate community pride and become stewards of our green spaces.
Over the years, we have grown our partnerships and have been able to obtain several small grants to support our efforts. In 2023, we held our first-ever Summer Festival, bringing together over 200 of our neighbors together with free food and local artists and vendors. We have worked with over 1,000 volunteers to help realize the vision of a clean and beautiful Cobbs Creek Park.
Cobbs Creek Park Ambassadors 