There are many ways one can serve a community. An impact is an impact, big or small; the fact remains that you changed someone's life or a community's future for the better. One of those ways is by protecting our environment and ensuring it stays clean. In that sense, World Clean Up Day is crucial as it aims to build a cleaner and healthier environment, one community at a time, worldwide.

On Saturday, September 16, Senegalese YES Alumni from Thiès and Dakar organized a joint activity in recognition of World Clean Up Day in Dakar, led by Alumni Coordinator Mohamed Fall '15. Four fellow alumni, five YES Abroad students, and several volunteers from the local NGO, Cap for Change, joined hands to clean up Soumbédioune Beach.

In Thiès, eight YES Alumni, led by former alumni coordinator Faly Seck '19 and newly appointed City Representative Yolande Ndiogoye '18, came together to clean the area surrounding Malick Sy High School and spoke with some locals about the importance of using trash cans and not littering. After the activity, the volunteers left these places cleaner and with hearts full.

One simple action, such as picking up trash, can bring about positive change. Through World Cleanup Day, Alumni applied what they learned and gained during their YES experience and molded the path for others.