Volunteers help clean up storm debris on Capitola Beach
CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION-TV): Now that the storms are over, the recovery process took a step in the right direction on Sunday afternoon.
Over 100 volunteers came out to the first of many clean up events at Capitola Beach. The event was organized by the City of Capitola's Recreation Department and Save Our Shores.
Erica Donnelly-Greenan is the executive director of Save Our Shores. She said the organization has been planning the event for the past couple of days.
"Once the emergency response teams gave us the go-ahead, we wanted to galvanize the community to come out and clean-up," Donelley-Greenan said.
Save Our Shores is a non-profit organization that has helped preserve the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary since 1978.
Donelley-Greenan was grateful that the city was willing to help partner in this first clean up event.
"I am a strong proponent of collaborations on every level," Donelley-Greenan said. "We all need to be coming together to actually make a bigger push and a bigger difference."
Officials shared that the event was only scheduled to have 50 volunteers. However, many people signed up on Sunday wanting to help clean up the beach and Capitola Village.
One of those volunteers who came was Annie Eller. Eller lives in Capitola and heard about the event through social media.
"I heard about this through social media and it was actually limited," Eller said. "It was filled up really quickly and that was really cool to see that there is so many people in the community willing to help out."
Volunteers and officers from the Capitola Police Department helped lift multiple tree stumps and pieces of driftwood into the dump. The dump filled up quickly within the first hour of the event.
Nikki Bryant LeBlond is the recreation division manager for the City of Capitola. Her department was prepared as residents signed up online to volunteer for potential clean up events throughout the city.
Bryant LeBlond says that events like these begin the healing process in the aftermath of these storms.
"I hope that many people will walk away from this event feeling like they have had a place to put all of that energy and concern," Bryant LeBlond said. "I want them to know as a community we're coming together in order to take the next steps."
Both organizations told KION that future clean up events will be coming within the next couple of weeks. To register as a volunteer for any future clean up events click here. To learn more about Save Our Shores visit here.
