Inroads to Opportunities Celebrates Earth Day with Community Clean-Up in Roselle

ROSELLE, NJ – The rain could not keep people off the streets for long.After postponing the Inroads to Opportunities Earth Day Different Abilities Clean-Up by one day due to inclement weather, the group was out in full force on Thursday morning as dozens lined the streets of Roselle picking up trash along the way.Inroads to Opportunities is a community empowering group that helps people with disabilities pursue employment and an independent lifestyle. The organization has a tireless partnership with Roselle, and Thursday’s event was a prime example of allowing people with different abilities to showcase their passion for the community.“They are not just an organization that provides a space [for people with different abilities],” Roselle Assistant Business Administrator Denise Wilkerson explained. “It gives them meaningful jobs and employment. People with different abilities also want to be able to take care of themselves. They have the same desires that we have. It is important for us as a borough to give meaning to those in our community who need us the most.”Roselle’s relationship with Inroads to Opportunities started a couple of years ago when the borough realized the untapped benefits of opening their traditional Earth Day event to people with physical or mental disabilities. People with different abilities, Wilkerson said, are often overlooked when communities coordinate passion projects, but Roselle wanted to ensure that despite their different abilities, they have the same passion for their community.“We wanted to be more inclusive and give those with different abilities a chance to take part in their community,” Wilkerson said. “Often times people want to think all you have to do is give a ramp to somebody and you have done your job on diversity and inclusion, and it is not true.”“People who have different abilities want to take care,” Wilkerson continued. “They want to do what other people do, and they want to have an impact.”Thursday’s event was part of a broader effort by Roselle to enhance and improve the green space the borough has. As the group walked around the neighborhood along Chestnut Street and Highland Avenue, removing the litter and trash that was present. The Earth Day clean-up was one of many initiatives the borough has planned to spruce up the neighborhood through community-led projects.“We are having a whole blow out to beautify and clean our community,” Wilkerson said. “It is really about building Roselle to be the community it is supposed to be, not only in beautification, but also in passion and heart for the people.”