GIRARD — About 50 volunteers met at Stambaugh Park in Girard on Saturday morning to participate in World Cleanup Day as Youngstown CityScape and 422 United combined forces to demonstrate cooperation between Youngstown and Girard.

Youngstown CityScape Program Director Adam Lee liked the idea of the two cities working together, noting that in many ways the boundary is “just an imaginary line. We share a corridor that people cross between. We’re really one place.”

Lee credits Julie Sole, Vallourec’s director of operations project management, as the inspiration for the idea. Besides Vallourec, other partners included Metalico Youngstown, Livi Steel, Midwest Steel and Alloy, and the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition.

Sole expressed the importance of Vallourec’s involvement.

“We always want to be good stewards. As an employer, we have a duty wherever we can to try to make things better,” Sole said.

Girard Mayor Mark Zuppo was ready to do his part, stating, “If something is going on in Girard, I’ll be there.”

Girard Councilman Tom Grumley, D-4th Ward, stood nearby. He noted the participation of the two cities and all the businesses, emphasizing, “It’s a joint effort.”

Vallourec employee Amy Paff brought her husband, Pedro Forero, and their two daughters despite the drive from Sewickley, Pa. Forero said they like to “teach our kids this type of work is a good thing to do.”

The Girard High School Robotics Team, known as the RoboCats, was well represented, with about 15 volunteers. Jen Riedel, RoboCats coach and Girard High School math teacher, said they have always stressed the importance of giving back. She brought her 18-month-old daughter, Rylen, but joked that Rylen wouldn’t be picking up garbage as “she might put it in her mouth.”

RoboCat Gianna Otterson, 16, said, “I love being outside and in nature. I love animals and it’s important to protect the environment where they live.”

Teammate Patrick Siegel, 15, added, “It’s important to show that we care about the community — not just building robots and competing.”

After brief introductions and expressions of thanks, the group was divided into seven zones. Besides the neighborhood around Stambaugh Park, they cleaned at Gypsy Lane, Ohio Works Drive to Salt Springs Road, and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to the Madison Avenue Expressway. Along with bright yellow World Cleanup Day T-shirts, participants were given reflective vests, grabbers and trash bags.

They worked until noon and then returned to the Stambaugh Park pavilion for a lunch provided by Girard restaurant El Hefe.