Second Saturday Sweep starts at Lover’s Lane

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, July 6, 2016

This Saturday, local volunteers will lend a little time to brighten up a neighborhood in the first-ever Second Saturday Sweep. The event is a grassroots effort spearheaded by Keep Milledgeville-Baldwin Beautiful. Every month a different local neighborhood will be chosen as the designated cleanup project on the second Saturday. This initial cleanup is slated for 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the Lover’s Lane neighborhood in Baldwin County. Those who are unable to come out on Saturday are encouraged to do a sweep through their own neighborhood.

This new cleanup initiative is a great way to help beautify the local community, but it also reaches beyond that. This is a way everyone can get involved. Keeping local neighborhoods clean is a tremendous undertaking, and it shouldn’t be left up to one group or entity to take on that kind of responsibility alone. Litter and unsightly neighborhoods not only impact the residents who live within them, they also affect the whole community, giving off a poor impression that represents everyone who lives here.

Hopefully the Second Saturday Sweeps will set an example that other local residents will want to follow. Residents are encouraged to email suggestions for future Second Saturday cleanups to kmbbdirector@gmail.com.

Taking ownership of the local litter issue at the grassroots level is the best means by which to tackle it.

It’s important that we make a conscious effort — not just this week but every week and every day — to not be a part of the problem and find a way to create new solutions. It doesn’t take a tremendous effort to have an impact on your community and how it looks, but it does take a conscious commitment.

No single group or individual should have a greater impact on our communities than we should. That may require us to roll up our sleeves and get down to work.