SASSY members completed a beach cleanup at Magee Marsh on Aug. 12. (Submitted photo)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

OAK HARBOR – By noon on Aug. 12, the Magee Marsh beach looked a lot nicer thanks to members of SASSY (Self Advocates Saying Something Yeah!). SASSY members completed a beach cleanup at Magee, enjoyed a birdwatching hike, and toured the Magee Marsh Visitors Center. Cleaning the beach is just one way SASSY members have made the community a nicer place to live.

“SASSY members participate in many volunteer projects in our community,” said Amy Boling, an REC Specialist with the Ottawa County Board of Developmental Disabilities. “This summer, we have been working with the Family Advocacy Center to pack lunches, and we are also working on collecting donations for the Humane Society of Ottawa County and hope to volunteer a few days in September when we drop off our donations.”

Members of SASSY take a guided bird hike at Magee Marsh on Aug. 12. (Submitted photo)

The SASSY group meets monthly at the Ottawa County Board of DD office in Oak Harbor.

“We will occasionally have speakers come in to talk about subjects of interest,” Boling said. “When we don’t have a speaker, we will review our Project STIR (Steps Towards Independence and Responsibility) lessons. Most of our members have completed a three-day training to become a Project STIR graduate.”

Members of SASSY take a guided bird hike at Magee Marsh on Aug. 12. (Submitted photo)

But on Aug. 12, the focus was on volunteering at and enjoying Magee Marsh.

“We picked up a lot of trash,” said SASSY member Jonah Rice.

SASSY member Holly Harmon said she enjoyed cleaning the beach and birdwatching.

“I didn’t realize how many species of birds are at Magee,” Harmon said.

SASSY members tour the Magee Marsh Visitor Center on Aug. 12. (Submitted photo)

It wasn’t just birds that crossed their path on the Magee boardwalk.

“We saw otters, too,” said SASSY member Kendra Amborksi.

SASSY members Jillian Schneider and Andy Wells couldn’t pinpoint one thing they liked most about the day.

SASSY members talk about the Magee Marsh beach cleanup at the Aug. 25 SASSY meeting at the Ottawa County Board of DD office in Oak Harbor. They are, from left, Kendra Amborksi, Jonah Rice, Holly Harmon, Jillian Schneider, and Andy Wells. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“I liked everything,” Schneider said.

“I liked the whole thing,” Wells said.

The SASSY group is committed to making an impact on the community, and sometimes that means returning to a volunteer site over and over again. The Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center’s Summer Lunch Program provides thousands of meals to area children every year, and they can’t feed kids without help. The SASSY group helped pack lunches several times.

“We did that all summer,” Harmon said.