GREENFIELD — Organizers hope the downtown cleanup held Friday afternoon marks the first of many.

More than 25 people joined city officials to clean trash from around the intersection of Federal and Main streets to Conway Street, as well as parts of Bank Row, and Federal and Hope streets.

The first-of-its-kind volunteer cleanup day, which lasted roughly three hours, comes just a few days after the April 22 Earth Day and landed on Arbor Day. Mayor Ginny Desorgher, who could be found picking up cigarette butts near Energy Park on Friday afternoon, hopes the event can continue on a regular basis.

“People were saying it was dirty downtown and I thought, ‘Well, let’s clean it up,’” Desorgher said. “I’m just thrilled to have people caring about their community. This is our community and we can fix this. We can keep it clean, even if we need to have a few of these days a year.”

The volunteer cleanup crew, which included residents along with police officers, City Hall employees and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office employees, split into three teams to take on the removal of cigarette butts and other pieces of trash downtown.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Re-entry Caseworker Jennifer Avery, who brought a group of former inmates with her to assist with the cleanup, said she joined the effort to “give back to the community” and show the city, along with the previously incarcerated residents, another side of the sheriff’s office.

“Anything to beautify a space, to have ourselves and our participants be seen in a different light, showing that people can give back,” Avery said. “People do do well after incarceration, and people do care about their community in town. ... I just think it’s a great way to get involved.”

Desorgher added that the event was helpful, not only as a means to unite the community and maintain public areas, but to give municipal employees some time away from their computers to work outside. Economic and Community Development Assistant Christian LaPlante, who was using a pair of trash pickers to clear litter on Main Street, said he believed the cleanup’s high attendance could be attributed to an increased desire for a cleaner city.

“There’s already a lot of energy this year in general, for cleaning up downtown,” LaPlante said. “It’s always great to be able to give back to the place I work and get things looking nice.”

One group began its cleanup at the Greenfield Common before walking down Bank Row, moving over to Hope Street, then turning up the street to the intersection with Main Street. The other moved from the common, then down Main Street toward the Chapman Street parking lot.

The effort will continue Saturday, April 26, when the Greenfield Business Association and Blooming Greenfield will host a cleanup of the downtown bee sculptures starting at 11 a.m.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.