The Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District Ambassadors program works daily to help create a greener, cleaner and safer Downtown Minneapolis. You see them on the street wearing their green, yellow and blue uniforms, providing friendly faces throughout our community.
Ambassadors provide resources that not only help you navigate the city but also create a more vibrant environment for you to live, work, play and explore.
“It’s the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s day,” said Jeff Heinrich, Block by Block Regional Vice President and Ambassador Operations Manager. “Whether it’s just saying hello and a friendly smile or offering assistance.”
Ambassadors are impactful in many ways, and throughout the year MinneapolisDID.com will showcase Ambassadors and what they do. This ranges from helping keep our streets green through watering flowers and trees throughout the downtown area to keeping a watch out and reporting activity.
And it also includes helping those in need, whether it’s offering directions to a visitor or offering to help make connections to outreach services.
“Truly the most impactful thing we do is help those that are homeless or in need, find services and improve their situation,” Heinrich said. “But we are always impactful in many ways, from keeping the streets clean, providing a presence that is looking out for you, helping someone who is lost, jumpstarting a car or keeping the flowers watered and alive.”
Ambassadors have different roles and responsibilities.
There are typically 20 ambassadors on the street during the day at any given time, and there are typically eight on the street at night. Overall, from mid-spring to mid-fall there are 70 Ambassadors on staff. From mid-fall to mid-spring, there are roughly 40 on staff.
Roles and responsibilities include:
Cleaning Ambassadors keep the public areas clean by picking up litter, cigarette butts, removing graffiti, pressure washing sidewalks and emptying trash and recycling containers. “Having a clean downtown makes people feel safe and that the area is cared for,” Heinrich said. “If an area is dirty, it gives the appearance that no one cares about it, which makes people feel uneasy.”
Safety Ambassadors provide a friendly face for everyone downtown while being good observers of the downtown area. Similar to a block watch, they are the eyes and ears for what is going on downtown. “We are compassionate but firm,” Heinrich said. “All of our ambassadors are able to answer any question that a patron may have.”
Special Project Ambassadors do anything required to help the downtown area stay vibrant. That includes pressure washing sidewalks, watering flowers, removing graffiti, alerting the city or property owners of broken infrastructure, removing spills and stains and other necessary clean-ups.
The Ambassadors are on the street and ready to provide a smile, a wave or help if needed If you’d like to learn more about the Minneapolis DID Ambassadors, visit www.minneapolisdid.com/ambassadors.