Maddie's Fundraiser for Debris Free Oceans

I started volunteering with Debris Free Oceans back in 2016, after attending a life-changing scuba cleanup event! After getting more involved and learning more about the impacts of plastics & waste beyond marine life- how plastics contribute to the climate crisis, how they're linked to cancer and disease, and how they exacerbate inequality- I knew I needed to dedicate my time to empowering the community to solve this issue!

When I started with the organization, our main programs were community events, education in schools, and consulting to help small businesses reduce waste. We were a team of volunteers doing what we could in the free time we could find, generating meaningful impact. As we began to emerge as a leading NGO in Miami and more funds were coming in, it became clear that our community believed in our work to address the looming waste crisis locally and globally. We decided to SEND IT!

I became our first part-time employee after grad school, eventually coming on full time when we had sufficient funds (while our amazing volunteers, cofounders and board continued to dedicate their free time to advancing our mission and our organization!). We have since brought on our second full-time employee (shout out to the incredible Amanda!) and our programs have grown into large-scale community campaigns and coalitions!

This includes Plastic Free Cities, through which we train high school students to host their own events and to help local businesses reduce waste, and Zero Waste Miami, through which we facilitate a 100+ member coalition that is working to build Miami's circular economy. 

Both of these initiatives have received federal funding, and it brings us great joy to see some of the highest levels of leadership in the Country believing in the value of our work! But we have been achieving these successes with the smallest but mightiest of teams, and because of this we have to work really, really hard. Your support this Give Miami Day will go such a long way in helping us to have the staffing and resources that we need to continue delivering on our promise to make Miami waste-free :)