Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) celebrated Keep Norfolk Beautiful Day by volunteering for a community relations (COMREL) project to help clean the surrounding areas of the Willoughby Spit section of Norfolk, April 2.

Keep Norfolk Beautiful is a program initiated by the City of Norfolk's Public Works Department and offers volunteer and community service opportunities through various programs.

"To some, doing something as little as picking up a candy wrapper off the sidewalk might not seem like it is a big deal, however, if someone driving by sees Sailors taking time from their work and lives to help out, that can pay huge dividends," said Senior Chief Logistics Specialist Tracy Riddle. "We don't do this for the recognition, its more to inspire junior Sailors and civilians to come out with us and do their part to make our community more beautiful."

Service members and civilians split into small teams along the beach and the surrounding neighborhoods to pick up trash, identify potholes, and help residents who require an extra hand with common yard work maintenance to make the neighborhood look more presentable.

George Washington Sailors were assigned to help out Susan Serena with her yard work. Serena currently lives alone as her husband is in the Air Force and is deployed to Afghanistan. The Sailors helped with mowing her lawn, plucking weeds, and removing a large bush adjacent to her sidewalk.

"It's hard to put it into words how much I appreciate it," said Serena. "I don't have any of my real family members to help me here, but I still have my military family that chip in and try to help. With all the other things Sailors have to do with their day jobs, to be able to make time to help out the community is really impressive and speaks a lot of their character. We are deeply indebted to these men and women."

One of the Sailors who helped Serena clean her yard was Aviation Electronics Technician 3rd Class Justin Morgan, who is no stranger to keeping the community cleaner and safer.

"I really enjoyed helping her out," said Morgan. "Some people might not want to spend their free time cutting grass or plucking weeds, but I really had fun here helping a person who does not have the resources or the time. I know it benefitted her and I had great time helping her with my shipmates."

Cmdr. Philip Bagrow, the command chaplain aboard George Washington, regularly notifies GW Sailors of upcoming COMREL opportunities. Sailors interested in upcoming volunteer events can contact the command religious ministries department for more information.

Join the conversation with GW online at http://www.facebook.com/USSGW and http://www.twitter.com/GW_CVN73.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), visit http://www.navy.mil/.