Volunteers turn out to clean Savannah neighborhood

By Brittini Ray

The message was “Keep it Clean and Make It Green” in Edgemere/Sackville on Saturday as volunteers turned out to pick up trash and beautify the Savannah neighborhood during a community cleanup.

The neighborhood cleanup was co-hosted by the city of Savannah, the Edgemere/Sackville Neighborhood Association, Keep Savannah Beautiful and Georgia Southern’s Treasure Savannah

“It’s really important to keep our community clean,” said Rev. William Eson, president of the Edgemere/Sackville Neighborhood Association. “We want to keep it litter-free and keep it clean. In other words, we want to keep Savannah beautiful. We also have a voter registration out here.”

Edgemere/Sackville is bordered by East 53rd Street, Waters Avenue, Parnell Street and the Truman Parkway. The Edgemere/Sackville neighborhood was selected as the city’s first “Savannah Shines” neighborhood. Neighborhood revitalization is one of the city’s priorities for the Savannah Forward strategic plan.

Before 9 a.m., volunteers armed with garbage bags, trash collectors and other tools were out in droves collecting litter from Waters Avenue to Salvador Street.

“The Edgemere/Sackville Neighborhood Association is very active,” said Hallie Mobley Anderegg, Keep Savannah Beautiful board member. “This is our second neighborhood cleanup this year. They’re in a high traffic area — trash happens. We’re out here to help clean up and make sure that everything is a bit more beautiful.”

The city provided trash bags and other tools to remove trash to volunteers. Savannah firefighters, police officers and code compliance officers were also on site for education and outreach.

About 140 volunteers turned out to the cleanup, which ran from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Among the volunteers was Georgia Southern freshman Renee Clarke.

“I think it’s very important that we’re out here because this is our community too,” Clarke said. “We’re going to be living here so I think we should help to keep it clean.”