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AIKEN, S.C. () – This year’s Founders Day celebration in Aiken County took on a new form as community members united on Tuesday to spruce up their surroundings.
On March 10, Keep Aiken County Beautiful spearheaded a community cleanup event. Armed with gloves and trash bags, numerous volunteers descended upon Whiskey Road, determined to rid the area of litter.
“We reached out to locals for cleanup suggestions, and Whiskey Road was repeatedly highlighted as a priority,” explained Candace Cave from Keep Aiken County Beautiful.
Volunteers dispersed across the area, addressing both the obvious debris and those pesky smaller fragments that often go unnoticed.
“While many volunteers focused on areas near businesses, our goal is to ensure no large pieces of trash are left behind,” remarked Brianna Bailey, a stormwater technician in Aiken County.
Volunteers described the trash they found, from cans, clothes, even coat hangers. It’s about more than just trash. For them, it’s personal.
“I wanna keep it nice ’cause I enjoy nature so when I wanna see trees and stuff, I don’t want to see trash around it,” said Kaitlyn Danner, a volunteer.
Volunteers coming from all corners of the county, including local employees, to help clean up.
“People unfortunately throw their trash out inside the road,” said Shon Ledwith, a volunteer. “They don’t have pride in their county or their community and I do and I’m just trying to make it better.”
With every volunteer pitch-in, the county stays clean and everyone benefits.
“No one wants to live or work or play in a dirty environment,” Cave said.
“Think of your children, ’cause they’re gonna inherit this earth and you want them to have a beautiful place,” Ledwith said.
Each month, they supply everything volunteers need, making it easy to keep “Aiken County Beautiful.”