Litter Caterpillars

  • Les Arends Forest Preserve: The Ultimate Visitor Guide

    Les Arends Forest Preserve: The Ultimate Visitor Guide

    I pulled off Route 31, killed the engine, and heard the Fox River before I saw it. A few steps later, the trees opened, and Les Arends Forest Preserve felt a lot bigger than its 60 acres should've allowed. Why This Small Preserve Deserves Your Attention The first time I came here, I expected a…

  • 7 Volunteer Events This Weekend in Chicago

    7 Volunteer Events This Weekend in Chicago

    Want to Change Your Life? Start by Picking Up Trash. Do you ever feel stuck, like the mess in your apartment follows you around all day? I've been there, and I found out something hard and useful, cleaning other people's messes can teach you how to face your own. If you're searching for volunteer events…

  • Volunteer Job Descriptions: 10 Templates for Nonprofits

    Volunteer Job Descriptions: 10 Templates for Nonprofits

    I started Litter Caterpillars because my own room was a wreck, and my life felt like it was sinking under the same junk. Then three of us went out to pick up trash, got hit by hail, and somehow that made the whole thing click, cleaning other people's mess is easier than cleaning your own,…

  • Service Learning Chicago: A Complete Guide

    Service Learning Chicago: A Complete Guide

    Three of us stood under a tree in a spring hailstorm, laughing while our Uber kept canceling and a strip of trash sat in the gutter like it had nowhere else to go. I remember thinking that cleaning up Chicago can feel weirdly human, messy, cold, a little funny, and a lot more social than…

  • Nonprofit Sustainability: Real Strategies That Work

    Nonprofit Sustainability: Real Strategies That Work

    We were halfway through a Chicago hailstorm when three of us bent down to pick up cups, wrappers, and broken bottle glass from the curb. One Uber after another canceled, and we laughed because the trash was easier to move than our own plans. That day taught me something I still use every week. Nonprofit…

  • 8 Essential Blizzard Safety Tips for You and Your Crew

    8 Essential Blizzard Safety Tips for You and Your Crew

    The first time we picked up trash, there were just three of us, and Chicago surprised us with a burst of wild weather. We huddled under a tree, watched rides cancel one after another, and learned fast that cold is more than discomfort, it changes the whole mood of a day. I carry that memory…

  • Chicago Neighborhood Safety: A Complete Guide for 2026

    Chicago Neighborhood Safety: A Complete Guide for 2026

    I'm usually on a Chicago block before the coffee shops open, glove box full of trash bags, grabbers rattling in the back seat, and one eye on the street I'm about to walk. Some mornings I'm in a place my friends would never pick for brunch, never mind a lease, and I can tell you…

  • 8 Service Learning Benefits That Change You Forever

    8 Service Learning Benefits That Change You Forever

    It's easier to clean someone else's mess. I learned that the hard way, standing in a freezing Chicago hailstorm with a trash bag in one hand and my own life feeling like a landfill in the other. When you pick up what other people left behind, you start noticing how much of yourself you can…

  • Community Partnership Development: A Lasting Guide

    Community Partnership Development: A Lasting Guide

    Three of us stood under a tree in a Chicago hailstorm, watching Ubers cancel one after another while trash bags flapped at our feet. We were cold, laughing, and weirdly thrilled, because the cleanup had turned into something more than a cleanup. I still think about that afternoon every time a partnership gets messy. The…

  • Pilsen Wellness Center: What to Expect and How to Start

    Pilsen Wellness Center: What to Expect and How to Start

    Pilsen Wellness Center runs multiple Chicago-area sites, including a 24/7 mental health walk-in at 2259 South Damen Avenue. If you need help today, the right first step depends on whether you need crisis support, therapy, substance use treatment, or food assistance. I've walked that stretch of Damen, and I know how easy it is to…

building community chicago day trips chicago hiking chicago neighborhoods chicago nonprofits chicago parks chicago recycling chicago sustainability chicago volunteer chicago volunteer groups chicago volunteering community action community building community cleanup community engagement community organizing community service community service ideas community volunteering environmental action environmental volunteering how to volunteer litter caterpillars local activism local volunteering local volunteer opportunities marine debris neighborhood cleanup neighborhood improvement nonprofit leadership ocean plastic personal growth volunteer chicago volunteer cleanup volunteer engagement volunteer guide volunteer in chicago volunteering chicago volunteer management volunteer opportunities volunteer recruitment volunteer retention volunteer safety volunteer training zero waste living