Program Benefits Beaches, Volunteers

Our firm’s participation in the Adopt-a-Beach program has given me a chance to perform community service in an area that is a part of my daily life--the beach. I surf almost every day, so to see the beach a little cleaner makes me happy on a regular basis.

It really has made a difference at Surfer’s Point. There are no longer bottles and old clothes strewn through the bushes. The trash overall is being kept at a minimum.

A lot of people have the idea that it doesn’t matter if they throw their trash on the ground because the city or some other government entity will clean it up. When people see us cleaning up, they say it makes them think twice about littering, so it raises their awareness too.

The Adopt-a-Beach attitude is spilling over into other parts of my life. I always have gloves and trash bags in my truck now, so I clean up areas even when I don’t get recognition. There’s a field across from my apartment I’ve started picking up every month or two. When I’m out in Los Padres National Forest and I come across a lot of litter, I sometimes clean up the area.

Adopt-a-Beach and programs like it are an essential part of raising the awareness of the public regarding our shared problems and getting the community involved in solving them.

STUART GRIFFITH

Benefit analyst,

Fickewirth & Associates

Ventura