Long Beach community members joined forces Saturday morning to pick up trash along Belmont Shore as part of the 10th annual California Coastal Cleanup day.
According to the California Coastal Commission, the clean up is the largest volunteer effort in the United States. Part of the International Coastal Cleanup, which is organized by the Ocean Conservancy, the event focuses on keeping California’s beaches maintained.
Anne Heyl, a Signal Hill resident and Long Beach State alumna, was there with her son, Kenny, to help clean up the beach.
“It’s good for your soul, community and Mother Earth,” Heyl said.
She and her son regularly volunteer in the community, but it was their first time participating in this event.
Among the thousands of volunteers cleaning the beach, members of CSULB’s Student Communication Association joined in on the activities.
Grant Gordon, president of the SCA, thought the event happened at the perfect time, which coincided with major climate change issues around the globe.
“This is our backyard, we need to take care of it,” Gordon said.
Isabel Garcia, director of fundraising and events for SCA, said the club’s main focus is to give back to the community. The beach clean up was SCA’s first volunteer event of the semester.
“We like to connect back to our school,” Garcia said.
Members of CSULB’s athletic department were also in attendance.
The cleanup was held from 9 a.m. until noon, and awarded those who collected the most trash with special prizes. Trash was collected in different receptacles including bags provided by the event, Home Depot Buckets and other similar containers.