Rising earlier than usual, 90 McEachern High students got out of their beds on a recent Saturday, donning their “Pick It Up Powder Springs” t-shirts, to participate in the annual City of Powder Springs Trash Pick Up event.
The group met behind the Dollar Tree on the corner of Macedonia Road and New Macland. Adults included Gretchen Davis, Jan Dilbeck, Annetta Adams, Johanna Heath, Mary and Bela Inman, Barbara Floyd, Penny Mitchell, Jane Law and Jackie Schilling.
Breaking into five groups and five routes they covered about 16-18 miles, collecting 81 bags of trash.
Jawaher Kahla, a member of BETA and ninth-grade student council president, wasn’t sure about picking up trash that early. Afterward, she said, “It felt really good to come out and make a change.”
Davis, a teacher at McEachern, had about 20 in her group. She’s been involved with this event since it started and loves hearing things from kids like “I can’t believe how dirty people are or I can’t believe somebody would throw this out here.”
The time spent gives the students a “second thought” about dropping trash on campus or picking up after themselves, she said. It’s not part of McEachern’s curriculum to do community service, but it is widely encouraged.
The collection is done twice a year - in October in the fall and in April during the spring around Earth Day.
Jackie Schilling, secretary for the Cobb County School District Police Department – Coordinator for McEachern High School Pick It Up Powder Springs Program. received a $500 mini-grant from Cobb EMC allowing her to purchase protective gloves and the pick-up sticks.
The City of Powder Springs provided trash bags, t-shirts, bottled water and granola bars. Schilling usually chips in and purchases additional snacks. This year she had hot dogs waiting for the students, knowing they would be hungry after picking up garbage for over three hours.
Returning for her second year was Oreofeoluwa Ajayi, who said, “It’s important to pick up trash for safety reasons and for the environment. It cuts back on our pollution.”
Each Sunday we write about a deserving person or charity events such as fun-runs, volunteer projects and other community gatherings that benefit a good cause. To submit a story for us to cover, email us at ajc.doinggood@gmail.com
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