Owings, MD – Calvert County girls lacrosse teams have embraced a viral challenge, cleaning litter from the community and giving back while building chemistry with one another.

The #TrashTag Challenge takes the challenge trend that has millennials flipping bottles, dancing, and jamming spoonfuls of cinnamon into their mouths, using the internet’s sensationalism to better communities around the world.

The trend came to the county when Northern High School freshman Presleigh Vagnier saw the challenge on the news. She then proposed to first year Head Coach Mark McCauly that the team give back by doing the same. “The girls though it was a great way to team bond while serving the community,” said McCauley. The team ventured to multiple places in the northern end of the county, including Chesapeake Beach and parts of Fishing Creek, gathering trash as they went. McCauley even got out his kayak to “get some of the marshy grass area that [they] couldn’t reach.”

The Trashtag challenge isn’t the first to use social media for good, challenges like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge rose over $115 million, aiding in the discovery of a new gene, according to the New York Times. Where the ALS challenge relied heavily on celebrity and those financially secure to make its impact, the Trashtag Challenge simply requires one to have the ability to clean trash in their community.

McCauley stated that the Chesapeake Town Hall was “very receptive,” supplying the team with trash grabbers and bags. He added that, “many stopped by” voicing their appreciation for what the team was doing. Sophomore Alayna Stewart stated that the challenge “was an amazing experience” for her team, pointing out that they were able to collect 12 completely full bags of trash.

The challenge has been cited as starting all the way back in 2015 by the company UCO Gear but was revitalized by Facebook user Byron Román at the beginning of the year.

Following their completion of the challenge, Northern challenged Patuxent who then challenged Calvert’s girl’s lacrosse team. The Cavaliers cleaned up Calvert Beach with first year Head Coach Keith Hicks calling the challenge “a worthy cause.” Hicks went on to say that the challenge his team “a chance to step away and fellowship outside of the lacrosse field.” Upon completing their challenge, Calvert challenged Huntingtown’s team, who will be the final team in the county to complete the challenge.

Contact Jerold Massie at staffwriter@thebaynet.com.