SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When Namu Williams got to Sacramento at the end of March, he started to wonder how he was going to make friends in his new city. When he saw the "#trashtag Challenge" going viral, he decided to organize a clean-up day and invite people out.
"What a better way to make some new friends and jump into the local community than by asking people that I don't know to come to help me clean-up trash," he said.
In the #trashtag challenge, social media users use the hashtag while cleaning up trash in their area - hopefully inspiring others to do the same.
Williams posted the clean-up day details to the Sacramento subreddit with zero expectations, hoping that at least one or two people would show up.
He was ecstatic when 11 people showed up. In two hours they were able to clean up 20 bags worth of trash from the Sacramento River Parkway and make a few friends along the way.
Williams said he plans to continue the clean-ups because it feels good to make his new community a better place.
"I've contributed my fair share of trash and pollution to the world," he said. "So I thought it was a good way for me to get involved in the community."
His work is even inspiring a few new friends, his six and eight-year-old neighbors Maverick and Cailyn.
"I want to make sure all the trash is away from the Earth," Maverick said, his best friend Cailyn nodding in agreement. "Because I don't like how it's all over the place and people litter."
Both said they plan to start trash clean-up clubs at school.
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