Clean Your 904 Keeps Jacksonville Thinking Green
Image courtesy of Emilio Garcia via Unsplash
Clean Your 904 Founder Shares Message of Community and Sustainability
Founded in 2012 by Allison Shirley, Clean Your 904 began as a humble effort to make a difference in Jacksonville, FL. Allison organized her first beach clean-up with her University of North Florida Volleyball team with just 15 people in attendance. Fast forward to 2018, when she organized 6 beach cleanups with an average of 300 volunteers at each event! Allison’s passion for the environment and the Jacksonville community started a movement of environmental consciousness throughout the 904 that is making waves today.
Now a registered non-profit, Clean Your 904 organizes clean-ups throughout Jacksonville to encourage local residents and businesses to come together for the community. Along with keeping Jax beaches, parks and streets clean, Clean Your 904 also visits local grade school classrooms to teach students the importance of sustainability.
We sat down with Clean Your 904 Founder Allison Shirley to learn more about the organization’s past, present and goals for the future.
What inspired you to launch Clean Your 904?
“In college, I played volleyball and spent a lot of time at the beach. I was tired of picking up trash on our courts and hated to see such a beautiful place that I was proud to call home trashed. In 2012, I was a part of the UNF Volleyball team, and it was the first official NCAA D1 Sand Volleyball season. I wanted to put on a beach cleanup with my team before our first collegiate tournament at the pier to connect with our beach community and to promote our tournament. Our tent was broken, 1st place prize for our Cigarette Butt Competition won a free surf lesson with me and a teammate, our coach gave us a fruit bowl to share, and only 15 people showed up. Regardless, I felt like we made a positive impact on the beach and I was inspired to organize more cleanups. For 6 years after that, I put on beach cleanups at the pier and each event grew in volunteers and community support. Over the years we went from 15 volunteers to 500! In 2018, I started a website and IG called Keep Jax Beach Clean to promote our events. After the success of our beach cleanups, I wanted to further our impact in Jacksonville and started putting on cleanups in Riverside. in 2019, I changed our name to Clean Your 904 and became a nonprofit.“
Why is it important to come together to “clean up” and how is it impactful?
“Coming together as a community at our cleanups is impactful because we are creating an opportunity for people of all ages to have a hand in making a positive change where we live. Also, it’s a conversation starter to be walking around picking up trash with your brightly colored 5-gallon bucket. People may walk by you and say thank you or ask how they can help too. We are not only bringing local people together, but also our local businesses. We put on these events with the help of businesses in the areas. They help us fund the events, cover supplies, donate prizes for our trash competitions, or fuel our volunteers with coffee and donuts. In return, we promote these businesses who support our cause and it creates a very local vibe where we are proud of being a part of the Jacksonville community.“
What makes Clean Your 904 different?
“We aim to make our cleanups fun and family friendly. To motivate our volunteers to pick up more trash we have 2 trash competitions. Our Cigarette Butt Competition, and Weirdest Finds Contest where top collectors win awesome prizes. We have local businesses donate treats and fuel for our volunteers during the cleanups. We also love to host a donation-based yoga class before our cleanups to raise money for Clean Your 904 or in partnership with organizations, like Yoga 4 Change, to raise money for their cause. After most of our events we partner with a nearby locally owned restaurant or brewery to host our volunteers to bring together like-minded people and to celebrate a successful cleanup.”
What’s in store in 2020 for Clean Your 904?
“We are mapping out the dates for our cleanups for 2020 with cleanups at the beach, Riverside, and hoping to expand other parts of Jacksonville. Stay up to date by following us on social media @cleanyour904.”
How can people contribute to cleaning up if they are unable to physically attend an event?
“Taking 5 minutes to do a mini cleanup around your neighborhood, favorite park, or beach can make a big impact. Also, being mindful of ways to reduce the amount of trash you make by bringing your reusable items in place of single-use.“
Fuel Up with Sustainably Caught Seafood at Timoti’s
Whether you’re attending an organized beach clean-up or picking up litter on your morning walk, fuel up responsibly at Timoti’s with fresh, wild-caught seafood.
