CHATHAM — From now until Friday you have a chance to win a $5 gift card just for picking up trash.
Chatham Special Service Area 51 ambassadors will distribute raffle tickets to anyone they see throwing away garbage in designated red trash cans.
The bins are located at 79th and Cottage Grove and 87th and Cottage Grove. The raffle tickets can then be submitted to the Chatham Business Association, 800 E. 78th St., for a chance to win the gift cards.
The organization's executive director, Melinda Kelly, said that some areas have an "abundance of trash" and it hurts the Chatham business corridor. She said that criminal activity often times takes place on dirty streets.
"If someone is dealing drugs or doing something negative, there has to be trash around so when police come they can drop it into the trash," Kelly said.
Kelly said the effort is an attempt to change behavior.
"We will pay you not to litter and hopefully you will change your behavior and appreciate the end results and it’ll be contagious, she said.
Kelly said they're still finalizing where the gift cards will be from (spots like Brown Sugar Bakery and Dat Donut are in the running) and how many they will distribute.
"Our whole goal is to make sure people want to come out and shop in Chatham because they already have the best products and the best business owners, we just need you to feel good when you’re walking on the street," she said.
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