Release Date: July 20,2023
Downtown Akron Ambassadors Keep the Neighborhood Clean, Safe & Welcoming
July 20, 2023, Akron, Ohio — A team of 10 Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) ambassadors works seven days a week to maintain a clean, safe and welcoming city center.
Cleaning services include maintaining downtown sidewalks, removing litter and graffiti, completing special projects and maintaining downtown beautification elements such as planters and hanging baskets. Safety services include providing escorts to and from businesses and parking locations, reporting on issues of concern or emergency situations, addressing questions from street level businesses, and connecting people in need with supportive services.
Aside from these important tasks, all ambassadors provide information and directions to visitors, perform walking and biking patrols throughout the 42-block Downtown Akron Special Improvement District (DASID), jump car batteries and unlock car doors for stranded motorists. They also lend hands-on support during downtown Akron events.
In 2022 alone, ambassadors cleaned downtown bus stops 3,646 times, removed 867 graffiti tags, helped 285 people with vehicular trouble, collected more than 20 tons of trash, provided 100 safety escorts, and lent other assistance to people 22,200 times.
DAP President and CEO Suzie Graham says, “The downtown ambassador program is a key component to the service that DAP provides to the downtown neighborhood. This special group of people accomplishes so much to improve the holistic health of downtown. They are vital to the DASID. We are a safer, more vibrant neighborhood, thanks to our work with the ambassadors.”
14 Years of Service, Presence & Gratitude
The ambassador program began in 2009 to further DAP’s mission of promoting and building a vibrant and valuable downtown. DAP tested an expansion of their service hours in 2019 with the help of Akron Civic Commons. Now, ambassadors provide service seven days a week. Their hours of operation are:
Monday – Saturday: 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sunday: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
DAP collects positive feedback about the downtown ambassadors in an annual report. Feedback is gathered from general survey responses and social media comments. A few noteworthy words of gratitude from the community to the ambassadors include:
“Today a guest had a dead battery. I called the ambassadors and they got started right away. The guest said that extra perk was what was the icing on the cake and made things even better with his stay here and will definitely be back.” – Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Akron
“A BIG thank you to the downtown Akron ambassadors for helping us safely across the streets this morning. We appreciate you!” – NIHF STEM School
“The Ambassadors do an AMAZING job! Every time that I am around them, I thank them for all that they do. They are very courteous, respectful and ready-to-help. It is a fabulous program.” – DAP General Survey comment
“They are wonderful! Please keep them, they make a big difference in the downtown experience.” – DAP General Survey comment
Learn more about downtown ambassadors at https://www.downtownakron.com/about/clean-and-safe-ambassadors. Call 330-706-7383 for ambassador assistance.
Find out more about Downtown Akron Partnership. Follow us at www.downtownakron.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.