Downtown Rochester is a little cleaner today thanks to the hard work of Champion Academy students.

The Champion Academy kicked off its 2017-18 community service initiative with a clean sweep. Three hundred students headed downtown to clean the one-mile radius around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.

The mission of the Champion Academy is to help teens overcome obstacles to reach their full potential. The academy’s founder, Super Bowl champion Roland Williams, says the clean sweep is a part of that goal.

“Philanthropy is something that is taught,” said Williams. “It doesn’t always come batteries included. So it’s important that we give our students the chance to learn about the value of giving back.”

The students will hold monthly clean sweeps around Rochester over the next seven months.

After Wednesday’s clean up, the Champion Academy “blue shirts” headed to the Rochester Public Library. All of the students received library cards to help keep literacy alive during the summer months.