We're the first and only trash pickup group that has won an empty lot at auction and we're currently building a park! Help us build Caterpillar Park in Englewood!

So here's my question for you: Are you tough enough?

Our Story:

I started the Litter Caterpillars because my whole life I have had trouble cleaning and organizing my things. And as my living space became more of a mess, my life became more of a mess too.

Every piece of trash had its own sentimental story. The old blueberry jam in the back of my fridge I got 4 years ago from that one trip to Michigan. The bag of nuts from that time I tried to eat healthy but failed.

Each piece of trash was just not movable by me. It weighed less than a pound, but to me it might as well have weighed 500 pounds.

My life reached a breaking point when I ended a long and chaotic relationship with someone who was very selfish and always partying.

I resolved that from now on, I would mindfully engineer my social circle to filter out selfish people.

And I resolved that I would tackle the things that have always been the most difficult things for me: cleanliness, consistency, and bravery.

Our logo represents the very first time we picked up trash.

There were only 3 of us, and we got caught in a springtime hail storm / blizzard (something Chicago's famous for haha). As we were huddled under a tree, shivering, watching as every single Uber repeatedly cancel on us, I realized something: 1. cleaning other people's messes is WAY easier than cleaning up our own. 2. It brings about a strange, new form of "fun", and 3. Suffering and freezing in the hail actually makes things interesting. It adds a type of "flavor". Another page in the story. It "advanced" the plot!

Now it's been about 3 years. Every single week, we have been picking up trash rain or shine, in blizzards and negative wind chills, but also in scorching hot days.

Our Central Vision:
We believe in the redeeming and transforming power of service to our environment, outdoors, sunlight, and friendship. That’s why we are Caterpillars. We are not perfect, but we are all trying to transform ourselves! Through service, we can learn to trust ourselves and forgive ourselves.

Our Values:
1. Bravery

Fear is good. Failure is good. Suffering is good. It’s what leads to growth.
When Tom Sawyer was punished by his aunt and was forced to paint a fence, he could have wallowed and complained. Instead he convinced his friends that painting the fence was actually extremely fun. His friends even paid him with an apple for the opportunity!
We believe that a big part of bravery is also pride / inspiration. We borrow flags, theme songs, badges to give people pride. Sports teams and countries have long realized the power of giving people pride and identity, it’s time that kind people step into our power too. Pride is a crucial natural emotion.
The Litter Caterpillars Theme Song (made by Ella Duke): litter-caterpillars-theme

2. Kindness

Unity: We strive to bring people of all kinds together and believe in mutual respect and understanding. “If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
We on purpose have our events be in the weekend mornings to filter out selfishness. We are givers. We believe that party people will one day be ready to become Litter Caterpillars, just not yet.
We believe in volunteer-first. Volunteer energy is the force with we the world changes. It is fragile and must be protected above all else. Safety of the volunteers always takes first priority. Happiness of the volunteers takes second priority. Unlike other 501c3's, we will never pump our volunteers for money. We will do everything we can to encourage the growth of friendships between our volunteers.

Ready to Join Us?

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Please join our groupchat on IG at: https://www.instagram.com/j/Abb64oCtsQ4sNVLV/

Please join our groupchat on Geneva at: https://links.geneva.com/invite/56afdce3-7115-41ac-97b1-fbcd59db22e6

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