Left: Movie Night, watching the film “Nerve.” Right: Rebuilding work in Letcher County.
Clean4Change began in 2021 when co-founders Katelyn Johnston and Shayla Long, then in their senior year at Assumption High in Louisville, decided to do more than worry about issues like how climate change and environmental harms affect communities.
“I helped start Clean4Change because I am really passionate about fighting for our climate,” Johnston says. “I want to fight for a better future, and what better way to do that than to educate others?”
“I helped start Clean4Change because we live on a beautiful planet, and we need to start taking care of it the way we should,” notes Long.
Today, Clean4Change operates across Kentucky, helping communities learn about sustainability and put it into practice. Clean4Change hosts events like park clean-ups, advocacy socials, and in-person and virtual educational gatherings, aiming to provide opportunities “for any effort to be involved in addressing climate change,” according to the group’s website.
Clean4Change’s mission is to create a greener future for the planet through education and action, and the group aims to limit the impact on vulnerable communities by connecting with those groups to address environmental harms. “We are dedicated to providing accessible projects and education throughout the region to engage all people,” they note as part of their mission statement. “As a group that believes in a just transition, we commit to diversity. We value diverse perspectives to our world’s most pressing issues. Because we all breathe the same air, climate injustice anywhere means climate injustice everywhere.”
“I am supporting the Earth Walk because I attended it in 2021 and loved the event,” Long says. “Now I can help to organize it and raise money for these amazing nonprofits, Clean4Change being one of them! I think it’s really amazing that we can come together, celebrate the earth, and raise awareness for the importance of clean water, air, and soil in Louisville.”
Clean4Change began its activities with clean-up efforts at local parks, including McNeely and Big Rock Parks, and other locations around Louisville. Mindful of health concerns around the covid pandemic, they offered innovative virtual pick-up options, too: participants picked up at least one bag of garbage around their own neighborhood, then sent in a photo of their activity to be eligible for a prize drawing or to count for community service hours, if needed. The virtual pick-ups alone resulted in about 50 bags of trash recycled.
Clean4Change’s advocacy socials, which debuted in August 2021, bring people together to write letters to their legislators, make posters for climate strikes, sign petitions, and take similar actions to advance environment-friendly causes.
In 2024, Clean4Change also has teamed up with other groups to volunteer in Letcher County, helping residents rebuild after the devastating 2022 Eastern Kentucky floods.
Learn more about Clean4Change at clean4changeky.wixsite.com and make a donation to the organization here.
Louisville Earth Walk 