The Carlos Rosario School commemorated Martin Luther King Day this year with a student government-organized Day of Service event. Thirty-seven students, volunteers, teachers, staff and their families gathered on the chilly Monday morning to clean up a trash-filled stretch of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, which runs just behind the Sonia Gutierrez Campus.

Student government representative Ekene Uzoegwu, who helped organize the event, said, “The MLK cleanup day was important because it’s a way of helping the environment and giving back to the community.”
After warming up with hot coffee and donuts, volunteers headed out with trash bags, gloves and trash pickers to the makeshift junkyard. Young children hailing from Ethiopia to El Salvador competed against one another to see who could gather the most trash and students and teachers worked side-by-side to pull up larger items. In the end, the group collected 30 bags of trash, along with a box spring, a chair and a pitchfork.

The event was held in collaboration with the Washington Area Bicycle Association Trail Rangers Program, which aims to support and encourage the growing community of trail users. The trail ranger called this cleanup event one of the most successful they’ve ever had.