Welcome to the Fall edition of our newsletter, chock-full of great updates including the impact summary from September’s International Coastal Cleanup Day, + Instagram Contest Winners, our upcoming Give Miami Day fundraising campaign on Thursday, November 15th and our recommendations for Ocean Friendly Holiday Gift Giving. Thank you for joining us in our crusade against marine debris and single-use plastics. Read on…
International Coastal Cleanup Day Impact Summary
This past September, VolunteerCleanup.org organized Miami-Dade’s participation in the global, 33rd annual International Coastal Cleanup. For our 4th year leading the event, we are pleased to announce that we had our biggest turnout ever, with close to 3,000 volunteers removing nearly 15,000 pounds of marine debris from 49 different shoreline locations across Miami Dade! A big thank you to all of the volunteers, Site Captains, and partners who made this county-wide cleanup such a success!
*This effort was made possible by the generous support of our presenting sponsor, Covanta, with additional support from the City of Miami Beach – MB Rising Above, Capital One, Revolution 93.5 FM, and Miami Beach Suncare.
We’d also like to recognize the Winners of the Instagram Photo Contest:
- Best Action Shot: @ChicoandtheManny getting deep into the mangroves on his paddleboard with his dog onboard! https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwV_JGHB_LrxYGl0GZ6PXP0Q1wc1AAdI9HeaU0/
- Best Group Photo: @PlantedInMiami: https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwTRvbHGwJ/ I mean, who doesn’t love a Charlie’s Angels redux with trash pickers!!
- Strangest Find: @JulesTheFoodDetective and @Glow_Riaaa: a mop, 2 instruments, a bike wheel, a metal fan, New Years Boaters Ball Drop, and Bobs Barricades: https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwY5WPFrda/ and https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwsEFtHsCB/
- Most Detailed Oriented/Most Microplastics: @Alpz24 https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwaMCinuz5/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwY0bgHCA9/
Honorable Mentions to:
Most Miamian way to arrive at a cleanup! On a wave runner naturally! https://www.instagram.com/p/BnwZhKhnU4o/
We don’t actually know who this is in order to award a prize, but it’s amazing and we had to share!
Winners will receive their choice of an ICC shirt, or ICC 2018 reusable stainless steel cup, both with the adorable Puffer Fish artwork from this year’s theme.
Gifts that Protect the Ocean!
With the holiday season just around the corner, check out some of our favorite new items that make wonderful, thoughtful gifts for that sea-hugger on your list.
The Cora Ball Is The World’s First Microfiber Catching Laundry Ball! It helps stop microfibers from washing down the drain into the public waterways! $29.99 www.coraball.com
The Pirani Cup: We LOVE our reusable cups at VolunteerCleanup.org and we are always trying new ones. We were very impressed when we met these guys at OceanFest. Their cup is vacuum insulated, stackable and super lightweight making it super easy to #partysustainbly. https://www.pirani.life
Final Straw: I’m sure just about everyone has seen this Kickstarter for the original reusable, collapsible straw that raised $1.8 million, but if not, check it out for anyone who just can’t stop sucking and needs their straw. https://finalstraw.com
And…. for any other gifts, did you know that your online purchases can make a difference? AmazonSmile donates to Miami-Dade Coastal Cleanup Inc (our legal 501c3 nonprofit name) when you do your holiday or any other shopping online at Amazon using our smile.amazon.com page smile.amazon.com/ch/42-1766017 Visit the link for a one-time setup. Once you’ve set your Amazon account to donate to us, each time you shop, just start at smile.amazon.com and the donations are automatic at no additional cost to you! The more you shop, the more they donate to us!
Our Current Impact Summary
*Facilitated via our web platform since inception in 2014