On Saturday July 23rd the City of Sunny Isles Beach was grateful to receive help from one of our local service organizations, Key Club International. In June, Elizabeth Pantaleon contacted Sunny Isles Beach Ocean Rescue Division Manager Justin Broman and volunteered service hours to the City in the form of a beach cleanup. Elizabeth is District Lieutenant Governor of Division 25A in the Florida District and a student at Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High. The Key Club is the largest and oldest student- led community service club in the world.
The morning of the cleanup, fifteen enthusiastic club members, students from Alonzo and Tracy Mourning High School, North Miami Beach High School, and Doctors Charter School, arrived at the beach. Gloves, garbage bags, drinks and sun block were provided to them by the City. The volunteers then started out on 192nd Street with bags in one hand and garbage grabbers in the other, working their way down the beach picking up all kinds of trash including many cigarette butts, bottle caps, plastics, papers and other debris.
The Ocean Rescue Division supported the cleanup effort by transporting supplies and making sure volunteers were hydrated and safe in the hot temperatures on the beach. The students did a great job and filled up 4 large trash bags. Cleaning the beach in this manner produces two-fold results, the area is visually cleaner and our marine life is protected from garbage and plastics entering the water and contaminating it through pollution or even worse, physically harming the sea life.
The City of Sunny Isles Beach thanks the Florida Division 25A Key Club International for their efforts and we hope to have more cleanups in the future. For information about hosting or volunteering at a beach cleanup contact the SIB Ocean Rescue Division at 305-792-1922.
For more information on the Florida Key Club: www.floridakeyclub.com.
