On Saturday, February 25th, 2012, at around 8:00 AM, volunteers from PAVA (Pacific American Volunteer Association) arrived at a filthy river in Irvine to clean up all the trash and debris floating around the water. Volunteers from all 13 districts came to the clean up event by either carpool or they drove to the event by themselves. About 300 people including adults came to this cleanup. “Wow, there are so many people here today,” says Tommy Im, from district 10, a student at Serrano High School. Before the volunteers started cleaning, the mayor of Irvine, An Suk Hee made a speech to the volunteers. He said, “I really appreciate you guys for coming here to make this city more beautiful and a more healthy environment to live in; I thank each and every one of you.”
During the clean up, each set of 3 volunteers had 1 bag to put the trash in and gloves for each volunteer. “There are all sorts of trash here,” says Woo Tark Kim, a sophomore from Apple Valley high school, District 10 in PAVA. “Boxes, clothes, chip bags, etc.” Some of the volunteers picked up a ton of trash with zeal, while others just stood around and chatted throughout the whole volunteer. A few volunteers even went in to the river to pick up the trash floating around. “Why are people so lazy these days?” says Brian Park, a junior from Beverly Hills High school, in district 2. “They can’t even throw away their trash in the trash can?”
At around 11:00 AM, 2 hours into the cleaning, volunteers started showing tiredness. Some volunteers stopped picking up trash and drudged down on the floor, many where complaining. “This is so tiring and tedious!” says Rachel Kim a junior from District 5. However, some volunteers never stopped and kept picking up trash until the event ended at 12:00 PM.
Overall, the volunteer event was a success. A majority of the trash and debris in the Irvine waters were cleaned up. “It’s like seeing a before and after picture of a Korean celebrity that went through plastic surgery!” says James, a junior, from District 10. Although many of the volunteers hated cleaning up, the goal was met. The river was cleaned up.
