Cleaning the Coastline
April 12, 2014 – Small Business Growth Alliance (SBGA) Volunteers Participate in Local Surfrider Foundation® Beach Cleanup
The beach is the epitome of summertime relaxation and play, but when 80% of the trash and litter that people leave on the beach or in streams ends up in the ocean, it won’t stay that way for long. While regulations are put in place offshore to discourage people from littering, nothing helps prevent the pollution of our waters quite like a group of environmentally-conscious beach-goers on a mission.
SBGA volunteers came out in full force this past weekend to participate in the Surfrider Foundation® Beach Cleanup in Huntington Beach, California. Waking up early on their weekend to make it to the beach by 8 a.m., SBGA team members, friends, and family signed in, put on their gloves, grabbed reusable bags, and set out to search the sands for trash that others had left behind.
“I think sometimes it’s easy to take our beautiful beaches for granted,” mused the head of SBGA’s Volunteer Leadership Committee. “Helping the Surfrider Foundation® in their mission for cleaner beaches and oceans was kind of an eye-opener on how important it is to do our part to help the environment.”
After three hours of collection, SBGA team members produced bags filled with pounds of cigarette butts, charcoal, paper plates, and broken plastic. Also collected was the general feeling of giving back, accomplishment, and company camaraderie.
“I loved seeing so many people from the SBGA office taking their day off to work together toward a common goal of helping the environment,” Senior Vice President Bob Parisi shared.
SBGA is built on the foundation of giving back to the communities and environments that make up their membership base. Every quarter SBGA dedicates time, effort, and their large amount of employee volunteers to community service projects such as the beach cleanup, the Harvest Food Bank, and the Orangewood Children’s Home.