Power-Pole hits the beaches for coastal cleanup
Community . News & Press Releases . OutreachPower-Pole employees and their families spread out over Tampa Bay’s parks and waterways on Saturday to do their part for International Coastal Cleanup Day. Three sites — Medard Park, Picnic Island and the Riverview Civic Center and Boat Ramp — were chosen as part of the JL Marine Community Action Service Team network’s volunteer initiative.
“It was a great turn out for the first employee event held by the Power-Pole C.A.S.T. net. Everyone’s effort went a long way to keeping our parks cleaner and better for the entire community.” said Dan Benson, who helped in the effort to remove invasive Caesar weed from Medard Park.
Office coordinator Meghan Lanteigne was part of the group at Picnic Island, where they removed tires, styrofoam coolers, straws and what she estimated to be over 1,000 cigarette butts without having to venture far beond the parking lot.
“What was admirable about this trip was there were so many kids volunteering that were so excited to help pick up trash,” Lanteigne said. “It was the sweetest thing to see so many people come together in one area to all have the same mindset of making our environment a more clean and better place.”
“We were greeted with a refreshing northeastern breeze that kept us energized all morning,” customer service rep Eddie Lemmens said. “With this being my first cleanup of any kind, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I couldn’t have been happier with the turn out and representing JL Marine with my lovely coworkers.”
For several of the cleanup’s participants, it was also a day to get the entire family involved in the conservation efforts. Kelsey Summers, one of the newest employees at JL Marine, brought her children Mikaya and Camden along to teach them the importance of caring for the environment.
“It was great that she brought them along and they were really excited about helping us to clean up,” said Chelsea Barrett, who along with Summers helped at the Riverview site. “I really hope that we continue to do these events and grow the amount of employees that participate. It was truly a great overall experience.”
According to Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, which helped coordinate this year’s cleanup in Hillsborough County, more than 5,000 volunteers helped remove plastic waste, trash and other debris from over 80 sites across the county.
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