Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is coming up on Monday. To commemorate a great man who spent his life serving others, this day has become a time to come together to give back to our communities and volunteer our time to a good cause. If you’d like to participate in Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Day, consider joining a cleanup in your area. Cleaning up your local shoreline or even just your neighborhood can help prevent trash from becoming marine debris and can help to create a healthy ocean that we can all enjoy.

(Photo Credit: NOAA)
Groups across the country host cleanup events throughout the weekend and volunteers are always welcome. If you can’t make it to an organized event, consider organizing your own or just grabbing a trash bag and some gloves and cleaning up your local area. No effort is too small. Here are a few cleanups happening this weekend:
Saturday, Jan 16th
Host: Grassroots Garbage Gang; Where: Long Beach Peninsula, Seaview, WA
Host: 808 Cleanups; Where: Ala Moana Beach, Honolulu, HI
Monday, Jan 18th
Host: NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation; Where: Idlewild Park, Queens, NY
Host: Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy; Where: Ocean Beach, Stairwell 17, San Francisco, CA
Host: Save our Shores; Where: Sunny Cove Hot Spot Beach, Santa Cruz, CA
If you choose to serve on your own, please remember “safety first!” Interested in getting involved in cleanups in the future, too? Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter to get updates on upcoming cleanups.
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Day!