After President Trump spotlighted Baltimore’s rat infestation problem, videos emerged showing just how severe the situation really was.

That didn’t sit well with Scott Presler, so he took matters into his own hands and organized a clean-up targeting West Baltimore. Presler didn’t realize how successful his clean-up would be at the time. “I never intended it to turn into a national event. It was never supposed to be this big,” he stated. However, through word of mouth and social media, Presler received donations such as port-a-potties, trash bags, food, water, and dumpsters. 

One hundred seventy volunteers from all over the country came together and successfully cleaned up what used to be an impassable alley — removing toilets, chairs, tables, tires, and heaps of rotting garbage. The crew picked up over 12 tons of garbage from the West Baltimore neighborhood.

What started as political war turned into a community coming together to make a real change and members of the community felt the love and support.

Presler commented, “I’m a big Trump supporter, but I wanted people to know that’s not the reason we’re coming here today. This is not a pro-Trump rally, and this is not an anti-Rep. Cummings rally. This is truly the community coming together.” 

Baltimore’s infestation problem due to trash build-up and neglect to the city isn’t over yet. Dustin Fifer, a resident of Baltimore, told 11 News the effort isn’t ending Monday. “I’m going to try and keep it going myself. It won’t happen overnight, but slowly if we get the ball rolling, it will get bigger and bigger, and people will realize that people care about this place.”