Walking For Rochester

Walking For Rochester Celebrates Five Years and Record Breaking Cleanup Season at Upcoming Fundraiser

Rochester, NY — Walking For Rochester will host its 4th Annual Fundraiser and Silent Auction at Glendoveer’s, located at 2328 Old Browncroft Boulevard in Rochester, NY, on Thursday, October 16, 2025. The event marks the organization’s fifth anniversary since its founding in 2020 and celebrates a record breaking year for community impact.

This season alone, Walking For Rochester surpassed 5,000 pounds of litter collected, more than all previous seasons combined. The milestone reflects the organization’s growing citywide movement to eliminate litter through volunteerism, partnerships, and public engagement.

The fundraiser aims to raise $20,000 to expand Walking For Rochester’s cleanup programs citywide in 2026, building on the organization’s success and increasing its reach into more neighborhoods across Rochester.

“Our success belongs to the people of Rochester. Every volunteer, every partner, every sponsor has helped us build a movement that proves litter reform is both needed and possible. This is not the work of a few staff members, it is our neighbors, our families, and our community stepping up to make a difference,” said Matt Apple, Co-founder and CEO of Walking For Rochester.

Under Apple’s leadership, Walking For Rochester has grown from a small neighborhood effort into one of the city’s most visible community movements, uniting thousands of volunteers, businesses, and city partners. The organization is leading what Apple calls a litter revolution, reshaping how residents, business owners, and community leaders think about environmental responsibility.

Walking For Rochester continues to innovate through technology and collaboration. The organization operates a mobile app that tracks volunteer impact and is developing a GIS dashboard to visualize litter data and guide citywide cleanup strategies. In 2026, Apple plans to unveil what he envisions as the nation’s first citywide litter elimination system, a coordinated framework designed to connect community resources, measurable impacts, and real time insight into a single model for a cleaner Rochester.

The event is open to the public and all are welcome to attend.