Volunteers celebrate a clean beach as they raise their hands to the pier at Tybee Island beach at a previous year’s cleanup. Credit: Photo courtesy of Step One Automotive Group

Local community organizations including Connect Savannah, Savannah Philharmonic, SD Gunner Fund, Fight the War Within, Coastal Pet Rescue and other friends will “step together,” May 28 to clean up the beloved city beach.

Maja Ciric, Step One Automotive Group marketing manager said that cleaning the environment is a community effort.

“After a nice, fun, memorable day, beaches are often left with a lot of trash and dirt,” Ciric said.

From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Step One Automotive Group and other community organizations will team up with Tybee Island’s grassroots anti-litter campaign, Fight Dirty Tybee, to clean the beach.

“Step One Automotive Group initiated and organized the Tybee Beach Clean-up, with the idea to promote the importance of taking care of our environment and being aware of how we affect it with our everyday life and our habits,” Ciric said. “If the beach is not cleaned after, trash becomes a problem for plant and animal life, locals and visitors. Volunteers and organizations like Fight Dirty Tybee, play an essential role in keeping our beaches clean, But, the truth is, that each one of us needs to take responsibility and keep our environment safe and clean.”

Volunteers from local businesses and organizations work to clean the beach at a previous year’s cleanup. Credit: Photo courtesy of Step One Automotive Group
Fight Dirty Tybee will provide everything needed for an efficient clean-up. Volunteers will gather at the to-be-announced meet-up location and start collecting and sorting all the trash – straws, cigarette butts, paper, plastic – before it’s washed or blown into the ocean.

Step One Auto will donate high-quality hand-held grabbers, which need to be replaced on a regular basis, to Fight Dirty Tybee.

“As a small-budget non-profit, it is difficult to keep up with the replacement cost, so Step One will provide what amazing people from Fight Dirty Tybee need the most,” Ciric said. “We do plan to continuously support Tim Arnold and this wonderful non-profit.”

Environmental health, among other values, are important to Step One, Ciric said.

“At Step One we are proud to be part of our community and support different initiatives, all year round,” she said. “We are committed to organize beach clean-ups in Florida, where our Corporate office is, and in Georgia at least four times per year.”

“We step together. We Clean Together!” Ciric said.

Email Ciric at mciric@steponeauto.com for information on how to volunteer.

This article appears in 05-26-2021.