ZAMA CITY, Japan – More than 30 volunteers from Camp Zama and Zama City came together Thursday to clean areas around the Odakyu Sagamihara Station as part of ongoing joint community service efforts.
The volunteers first met at the train station and then divided into groups to pick up trash around the station and in nearby streets located close to Sagamihara Family Housing Area.
Using metal tongs, Cpl. Desiree Butler, an information technology specialist with the 78th Signal Battalion, collected pieces of trash in a garbage bag as she strolled along the neighborhood sidewalks.
“These cleanup events are a good way to get yourself out there,” she said, “and show that you actually care about the community.”
Butler said she has attended several community service events, including other cleanups and orphanage visits, as a member of the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program.
She said the program has allowed her to connect with other people and the country she has lived in for the past two years.
“You get to meet different single Soldiers, and it introduces you to different cultures, and it’s a great networking tool as well,” she said.
Ryosuke Hirano, chief of Zama City’s Clean Center, and other city officials invited Camp Zama personnel to participate in its annual station cleanup.
“Zama City always focuses on [area] beautification,” Hirano said, “and we used this opportunity to make the city even more beautiful.”
Hirano said the city hosts similar projects, such as the Sagami River cleanup, which the Camp Zama community also supports. Soldiers from the installation also often volunteer to clean or plant flowers in city parks.
“Zama City has a good neighbor in Camp Zama,” Hirano said. “I hope these kinds of activities will impress the Camp Zama people with the beauty of Zama City.”
While participating in the latest event, Staff Sgt. Jefferson Moreira, health care sergeant for U.S. Army Medical Department Activity-Japan, said he initially had trouble filling up his trash bags.
As Japan is known for its cleanliness, Moreira had to search under bushes for hidden pieces of trash that may have been overlooked.
“We didn’t see much trash,” he said. “You really had to look and dig around to try and find it.”
While the trash haul wasn’t as much as he expected, Moreira said the joint effort still strengthened relationships with the local community.
“It’s a partnership, so we help each other,” he said. “And we’re using the same train station, the same roads, so we might as well help clean and be part of the responsibilities that come with a shared space.”
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