AMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETY

AMERICAN LITTORAL SOCIETY

Dear Beach Captain:

Well, we did it again! A reported 10,000 New Yorkers participated in the 2009 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC)! Your dedication, energy, and enthusiasm in organizing your volunteer group, encouraging new participants, and explaining the need our beaches have for our help, made for another success. So many of you planned nature studies, games and refreshments, making the whole event a fun experience. Your leadership role and invaluable support strengthens our program.

In the 24 years the American Littoral Society has been coordinating this cleanup, the number of volunteers has been growing -- from 100 in 1986 at 4 sites to 10,000 in 2009 at almost 300 sites -- an indication of the strong desire of our citizens to become involved in service. All this in spite of ten canceled cleanups.

Trash is one of the most widespread pollution problems threatening our ocean and waterways - - yet it’s entirely preventable. Wherever we live we are all connected to the ocean. It drives and moderates our climate. It helps provide the water we drink and much of the oxygen we breathe. It directly feeds millions of people. Trash doesn’t fall from the sky, it falls from our hands, and what falls from human hands can be prevented.

The summary card is most important to the purpose of the ICC; it contains the essence of the event. It is the data that is collected and what we do with that information that makes the ICC different from other cleanups. The recorded items tell us about the behavior of people enjoying our beaches and coastline; it accords us the opportunity to follow trends and possibly locate the source of the trash. Your quick response in returning your reports and summary cards to me was truly appreciated.

Collected: 134,530 lbs. of trash along over 300 miles of shoreline, filling 98,000 trash bags and a number of dumpsters by 9,896 volunteers.

NEW YORK’S DIRTY DOZEN

61,260 Cigarettes/ Cigarette Filters

38,183 Caps, Lids

29,987 Food Wrappers/Containers

25,309 Plastic bags

21,596 Plastic Beverage Bottles

17,999 Straws/Stirrers

17,508 Cups, Plates Forks, Knives, Spoons

15,010 Glass Beverage Bottles

13,884 Beverage Cans

9,021 Paper Bags

6,389 Clothing, Shoes

5,740 Balloons

For the cleanup to happen, many hands are in the pie. Your assistance is key and we congratulate and thank everyone for their wonderful efforts. We recognize the importance and enthusiasm of "behind the scene" helpers, generous funders, and the Society's members and friends who answered our special appeal, allowing us to function admirably.

As with every non-profit organization, funding is always a concern. If our environment and the Cleanup are important to you and Santa has not squeezed the last penny from your pocket, you may wish to help the 2010 NYS Cleanup, celebrating its 25th Anniversary, by sending a tax deducted donation to the American Littoral Society, 9 West 9th Road, Broad Channel, NY 11693. Please indicate you are a beach captain.

DATE CHANGE: The ICC is normally held the third Saturday of every September. Ocean Conservancy has changed the official date of the Cleanup by one week to September 25 in 2010 to avoid conflict with Yom Kippur. As always, cleanups can be held on any day in September or October, weekday or weekend, to be part of the ICC data collection.

We hope this 25th Anniversary Cleanup to be our most productive. We are very proud of our volunteer numbers. We are #4 in the U.S. with the greatest number of participants after California, Florida and North Carolina. Join us again (with an even greater number of volunteers) by returning the 2010 registration today. If you are not yet sure of your date, just mark it TBD. I suggest you keep a copy of the registration for your records.

Don Riepe, Barbara Toborg, and I, as well as the citizens of our state, thank you for all you do on behalf of our environment. We wish you a very happy New Year, full of good health, good friends, lots of fun, and, so crucial -- peace in our world.

Please share this information with your volunteer group.

Sincerely,

Barbara

Attached: 2010 Registration Form. Please fax or email it back to me asap. I suggest you keep a copy for your records.