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Founded in 1919, Shenandoah is one of the first neighborhoods in South Florida. Located between the Brickell/Roads area and Coral Gables and bordered by Coral Way to the south, Calle Ocho to the north, SW 12th Ave to the east and SW 27th to the west, Shenandoah consists of beautiful historically-aged homes of various styles, including Mediterranean revival, colonial revival, mission cottage and various craftsman-style wooden bungalows.
Each year on the last Saturday in January, the Miami Shenandoah Neighborhood Association (MSNA) partners with local government, community nonprofits and local merchants to host its annual marquee Shenandoah Day festival as a token of appreciation to neighbors.
Shenandoah Day is normally a family-friendly fun-day in beloved Shenandoah Park with bounce houses, carnival games and arts-and-crafts stations.
But with the pandemic, MSNA converted the spirit of Shenandoah Day into a day of service, with residents fanning out throughout the neighborhood to pick up trash. Florida House Representative Nick Duran, along with Miami-Dade County District 5 Commissioner Eileen Higgins and Maggie Fernandez and Nancy Jackson from her office, were in attendance helping out.
MSNA President Jed Royer said that the trash walk was a chance for the Shenandoah community to come together, give back and address a problem. “Our neighborhood has been suffering from trash, debris, littering and obvious illegal dumping. Something needed to be done, so we coordinated a cleanup to build awareness and try to get some control of the problem. This isn’t a one-off, this will have to be a campaign if we hope to turn things around.”
Lindsay Corrales, MSNA’s Outreach Officer, polled the neighborhood in order to flag the worst “problem areas” and catalog the sites so they could be addressed in an organized and efficient fashion. “We need to do a better job, both residents and public services, if we expect to cure the problem. Today was really eye-opening. It’s one thing when you drive through the neighborhood going from point A to point B — you just see a piece of it. But when you have a chat that is being filled with pics of dumping sites and general litter that is photo-worthy, in real-time, it’s astounding.”
Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins said she was inspired by the Shenandoah community and said that in addition to beautifying the neighborhood, the Shenandoah Day of Service also brought awareness to the problem. “On one commercial property, my team collected nearly 4 bags of trash. I had the opportunity to speak with the manager of one commercial property to show the problem. We need everyone’s help to keep our neighborhoods clean – from homeowners to storefronts.”
Representative Nick Duran said he was happy to participate. “You could see how today’s cleanup filled everyone with a sense of pride and togetherness, something we all need right now. For our young it instills the importance of community service and for long-time residents, it’s about ensuring Shenandoah stays the special place where they decided to build a life.”
David Winker, Esq. is a business attorney who lives in the Shenandoah neighborhood and is a Miami Shenandoah Neighborhood Association Board Member.
