Want to Serve Our Community? Join Our Virtual Cleanup Event!

“The ocean is the origin and the engine of all life on this planet—and it is under threat,” declared Conservation International . The trash that ends up in our oceans and on our beaches can cause all kinds of problems for our delicate ecosystems and economies. But guess what? You can make a difference!

Each summer, members of AMC and their families join together on our beaches for a community service cleanup. While this year’s event will look different due to the social distancing requirements, we can still make a difference together!

We’re conducting a “virtual” cleanup event on July 25. We are asking you to join us on this community service cleanup by heading down to a nearby beach or park with your household and pick up trash. If we all did this, imagine the impact it would have on our beautiful coastlines and parks! Here are some of the benefits, how to prepare, and how to stay safe during your cleanup.

How This Benefits You and Your World

Cleaning up beaches and parks is satisfying, helps wildlife and the economy, and is a great activity to promote a healthy lifestyle.

“There is satisfaction to say, ‘I removed ten pounds of trash from my beach,’” says Kara Lavender Law, a research oceanography professor. “Even if it’s only ten pounds, that’s ten pounds that isn’t going to go into the open ocean.”

In addition to protecting wildlife, “clean beaches provide economic benefit to local communities in the form of tourism dollars,” says Laura Parker at National Geographic . “In southern California, researchers calculated that in Orange County alone that potential could translate into $46 million in just one summer.”

Whether you head to San Martin or Liberty Park or take a trip to Belmont Shore Beach or Long Beach, you’re making the world a more beautiful place. Plus, you’ll likely burn plenty of extra calories on this day!

What You’ll Need for the Cleanup Event

Once you’ve circled July 25 on your calendar or picked an alternate day that works best for you, it’s time to prepare for the event. Here’s a list of the supplies you’ll need :

In addition, don’t forget to bring a personal water bottle and some high-energy snacks to keep you feeling great!

How to Promote Safety

Current COVID-19 guidelines recommend keeping our cleanup crews to those within our households. If you do extend the invite to people outside of your household, be sure to follow this advice from the CDC : “When guests arrive, minimize gestures that promote close contact. For example, don’t shake hands, do elbow bumps, or give hugs. Instead wave and verbally greet them.” And in keeping with California’s mask mandate , wear your mask “when maintaining a physical distance of 6 feet from persons who are not members of the same household or residence is not feasible.”

Cleaning up beaches and parks really makes a difference in our community! It’s another way to make the summer of 2020 even more memorable than it already is! So please join us on July 25—or another date in July that works best for you and your crew—for our virtual community service cleanup event! Tag The 5800 Apartment Homes in your photos and use the hashtags #AMCcleanup and #livehappy. We can’t wait to see the difference we’ll all make in keeping our beaches beautiful!