October 24, 2026 · Phoenix, Arizona · Community service
It was the kind of Saturday morning that makes you glad to be outside in Phoenix: clear skies, comfortable weather, and a little time to do something useful for the neighborhood.
As part of this year's Italian American Heritage Month, three of us — Alghini Institute founder Christopher Alghini, his cousin Frank Scalise, and another local volunteer — returned on October 24 to our adopted mile of 20th Street, between Camelback Road and Indian School Road, for a neighborhood cleanup.
By the time we finished, we had filled two large bags with roadside litter.
A mile we keep coming back to
The Alghini Institute participates in the City of Phoenix Adopt-A-Street program through its Phoenix Clean Streets pilot. Our adopted stretch is a busy part of the city, with traffic, businesses, landscaping, bus stops, and sidewalks used by people every day.
Working along that mile is straightforward: put on a safety vest and gloves, bring the collection bags and pickup tools, and collect what shouldn't be there, following the city's safety guidance. Some mornings the work feels routine. That is part of the point. Maintaining a street means showing up again, not just once.
Carrying one of the bags collected during the cleanup. Photo: Alghini Institute volunteer collection.
This cleanup was part of the Alghini Institute's Italian American Heritage Month activities. Throughout October, we celebrate Italian American history, family stories, and cultural contributions. Our Phoenix Clean Streets work adds community service to that celebration: caring for the neighborhoods where we live, alongside preserving the histories that connect us. The Institute spends much of its time documenting culture and creating educational resources; we also want to show up for our neighbors in person.
At the corner along the adopted route. Photo: Alghini Institute volunteer collection.
A well-earned lunch at Pizzeria Bianco
When the work was done, we stayed in the neighborhood for a thank-you lunch at Pizzeria Bianco: Town & Country, at 4743 North 20th Street near Camelback Road.
It is a fitting stop on this route. Chef Chris Bianco began serving pizza in Phoenix in 1988, and his original pizzeria once operated at Town & Country before moving downtown. He eventually returned to the shopping center, where the restaurant now serves wood-fired pizzas and other Italian dishes.
A genuine 2018 photograph of Pizzeria Bianco's Rosa pizza, taken by Dale Cruse (CC BY 2.0), offers a look at the restaurant's food. This is a historical restaurant image, not a photograph of our cleanup lunch.
Bianco's work has earned national recognition. He received James Beard Awards in 2003 and 2022, and Pizzeria Bianco appeared in The New York Times' 2024 selection of 22 notable pizza destinations in the United States. His story was also featured in Netflix's 2022 series Chef's Table: Pizza. Read more about Pizzeria Bianco's coverage.
For us, lunch was simply a chance to thank our fellow volunteers, enjoy a local restaurant, and finish the morning around a table.
One more cleanup before the year ends
We plan to return once more before the end of 2026. If you live in the Phoenix area and would like to join us for a future cleanup of 20th Street between Camelback and Indian School, we'd be glad to hear from you. You do not need to be Italian American to help.
Our original story, The 100 Mile Italian American Clean Streets Challenge, also invited families, clubs, and organizations across the country to care for their own neighborhoods. That wider initiative is still a proposed national expansion of our working Phoenix pilot. We are now inviting expressions of interest from groups already participating in municipal Adopt-A-Street or similar approved cleanup programs, and from groups interested in starting.
Already caring for a street in your hometown? Tell us about your club, Italian American organization, or family and its local cleanup work. With your permission, we may contact you about a future national directory and opportunities to share your story. Registration of interest does not imply that a national network, leaderboard, or partnership is already operating.
Want to join our next Phoenix cleanup? Let us know and we'll send details when the date is set. For safety and coordination, participants should follow the applicable city program's rules; organizers outside Phoenix remain responsible for their own local arrangements.
Join the Clean Streets effort
Phoenix cleanup volunteers: Use our volunteer registration form, choose Clean Streets Volunteer (Phoenix), and mention the next 20th Street cleanup in your message.
Italian American clubs, organizations, and families nationwide: Contact the Institute with your group name, city and state, and a few details about your existing street-adoption work or plans. This is a registration of interest while the nationwide program and its dedicated signup form are being developed.
Choose one: Join a Phoenix cleanup or Tell us about a club, organization, or family cleanup elsewhere in the U.S.
While the dedicated form is being connected to the website, Phoenix volunteers can also use our existing Volunteer With Us page and select the Clean Streets Volunteer (Phoenix) role, with a note saying they would like to join the next 20th Street cleanup.
One mile. A few volunteers. Two bags less trash along the way. We'll be back.
