Selma High School’s “Clean Up Selma” is a club that focuses on getting teens involved in improving the community through cleaning the streets. They plan their cleans, their locations, and the dates they’ll clean during their meetings.
Freshman Rosa Alonso is the founder and President of Clean Up Selma. Rosa decided to take initiative and created Clean Up Selma.
“I realized how polluted areas in Selma were. I knew many teens would not go out and clean trash unless they had a reason to,” Rosa recounted.
She came up with the idea in eighth grade and began taking action on it once she started attending Selma High.
“It was a long process. I had to get a club form and get it approved before Club Rush,” Rosa expressed.
She continued to explain the difficulties of taking on a leadership position in a club.
“[At first] I was managing all on my own with the help of my supervisor, Mrs. Waggoner. It’s fun once you get the hang of managing the club,” Rosa explained.
Clean Up Selma meets twice a month, where Rosa gives presentations, selecting clean up locations and dates, which occur once or twice a month, as well as fundraising. With the help of club officers, Clean Up Selma can run an Instagram account (@cleanupselma.shs), create forms, and manage money and events.
Sophomore Kirti Tohan is Assistant Vice-President of Clean Up Selma. She emphasized the importance of participation in the club.
“We find that it is necessary that each club member is actively participating in our community service. With more participants, we are able to clean more areas,” Kirti explained.
She continued to urge others to help in bits, even if they aren’t a part of the club.
“Small efforts, like picking up trash, can make a major difference when everyone helps,” Kirti expressed.
Clean Up Selma’s Vice-President, Christian Delgadillo, explained how the club is managed.
“It can be stressful at times, but good management allows everything to run smoothly. All the information is held on Google Sheets, where we track community service hours, meeting attendance, and other useful information. This allows us to keep track of every member and ensure the fundamentals of the club are implemented,” Christian described.
Rosa Alonso has been working to grow Clean Up Selma into a larger program. She shared what she hopes to accomplish within the club.
“Some goals I have [for Clean Up Selma] are planning a field trip for a beach clean-up, creating sweatshirts for the cold clean-ups, expanding our club, and advocating for more trash cans along the community,” Rosa stated.
Rosa continued by emphasizing the inclusivity of Clean Up Selma.
“We are a student-run club that is welcoming to anyone who is interested in joining. People are often scared to attend new clubs because often their friends don’t want to [participate], but I encourage [everyone] to branch out of their comfort zone. [We] strive to not only help our city but help build friendships along the way,” Rosa concluded.
