LYNN — Residents grabbed trash bags and headed to Barry Park on Sunday after discovering trash and scrap fireworks scattered across the field.

Michael Biasetti Jr. and his life partner, Crystal Falta, founders of Project Warm at Heart, looked out at their neighborhood park the day after the July 4 celebrations and, on a whim, decided to pick up what their neighbors had left behind.

Leftover wrappers, spent Roman candles, and even unexploded fireworks littered the park, creating a sense of urgency for Biasetti to clean the area.

“It looked like it was a firework that just went out at the wick… I don’t know what it was, but it was big,” Biasetti said. “It had gunpowder all over it.”

Concerned that the box might fall into the wrong hands or be reactivated in any way while kids were riding and playing at the park, Biasetti was happy to make it safer as soon as possible. He and Falta wanted to get the job done sooner rather than later. They began at 10 a.m. and finished in about 30 minutes.

​“I’m glad I went down there and did what I did when I did it before a child found that massive box of gunpowder,” Biasetti said.

The unfired, nine-shot firework measured about 16 by 16 inches and stood about a foot tall, with an alleged couple of pounds of gunpowder inside, Biasetti said.

To him, taking care of his neighborhood has been a lifelong mission, which he said is a way to thank the city for what they provide to its residents.

“If the city’s willing to put up some money and do good for the citizens, then the citizens should do favors back and help clean up or do anything that they can do,” Biasetti said.

​Giving to the community and working together forms a deeper bond between the citizens and the city, Biasetti said.

“Once you get people out there who don’t know each other, but they’re out there working for the same efforts, the same goals, and they’re not working to get paid for it, they’re not working for the recognition, they’re working out of the goodness of their heart toward bettering their own community… that’s why I do it because I want to better the place where I grew up,” Biasetti said.​

Cleaning up has not been the only effort Biasetti and Falta have made for Lynn. More than seven years ago, the two founded an organization that provides clothing to homeless residents in the winter alongside other care efforts.

​The organization, Project Warm at Heart, started with a kind act and a desire to do more for one homeless man sitting outside in the cold at Dunkin’ Donuts on Lewis Street.

After giving the man a few dollars for a hot cup of coffee and an excuse to be inside the warm building during a snowfall, Biasetti and Falta went home.  

However, sitting on their couch didn’t provide much comfort; it provided a platform for thought.

“Mike decided, ‘You know what? I’m going through my closet,’” Falta said. “I think I have a jacket that’s brand new, so he goes through his closet, finds the jacket, finds a couple of other things like new socks and maybe a pair of sneakers… and we went back over there, and we gave it to him.”

Coming home for the second time after providing comfort and care for someone in great need, Biasetti and Falta drew up the plans for their organization.

“We said… we should do this on a bigger scale,” Biasetti said, which launched their donation drive that has continued since their founding.

Taking care of his community has given Biasetti immense satisfaction, motivating him to always do more than expected.

“I take pride in my community, and I want other people to take pride in their community,” Biasetti said.