Triple Bag Challenge rewards students for picking up trash along roadways
Seven local students were recently awarded prizes for participating in a challenge to beautify Somerset and Pulaski County.
A part of Lake Cumberland Clean Up Week April 17-22, SPEDA’s biannual Triple Bag Challenge was one of three efforts residents and businesses could participate in to clean up the community. Students who picked up three bags of trash received a chance to win one of several prizes.
Participants were asked to post before-and-after photos of their cleanup efforts to Facebook and/or Instagram using #spctriplesweep. The contest was open to all elementary through high school students living in Somerset and Pulaski County.
James Pitman, a second-grade student at Pulaski Elementary School, received the grand prize of $500 in cash. Other participants received season passes to SomerSplash Waterpark. They include:
- John Brown Hartwell, seventh grade, Northern Middle School
- Kaitlyn Adams, seventh grade, Northern Middle School
- Gia Debord, fifth grade, Somerset Christian School
- Charleston Girdler, eighth grade, Somerset Christian School
- Channing Girdler, second grade, Somerset Christian School
- Shelby Brown Hartwell, 10th grade, Pulaski County High School
SPEDA President and CEO Chris Girdler said it is a treat to reward young people each year who choose to give their time to keeping Somerset and Pulaski County beautiful.
“These young people are such an inspiration,” Girdler said. “Getting out and picking up three bags of trash from the roadway is probably not the first way they’d choose to spend an afternoon, but they all got out there and got their hands dirty to keep their community beautiful, and that is truly admirable. SPEDA is proud to reward such efforts because hard work, personal responsibility and environmental stewardship are values we want to reinforce for our young people. We want them to carry the torch and ensure the Lake Cumberland area remains beautiful for generations to come.”
The Triple Bag Challenge is hosted every spring and fall. Fall contest dates will be announced later this summer, Girdler said.