What makes our initiative different?
It’s the question that was at the heart of this community project, it’s the driving force behind why it gathers so much support and it’s the reason it continues to be so successful. Quite simply, ours is different because we choose it to be.
We choose it to be a celebration of community spirit, we choose it to give back and value the volunteers as much as we value the message we’re spreading, and most importantly, we choose its positivity to be the thing that brings us closer as a community.
We started this group at a time when public outrage was peaking and the Hong Kong people were united by anger and frustration with the government’s excuses and lack of action. While we definitely shared the sentiment, we wanted to find a way to unite people through positivity and a strong community spirit that harnessed a can-do attitude instead of backing a finger of blame.
From here, Stanley Beach Clean up was born.
The last event was truly a show of community spirit that demonstrated exactly what, as a collective and impassioned group, we can achieve. It was a huge success, and the results speak for themselves- we had over 200 volunteers show up to help, collected over 400 bags of waste and had a range of different products sponsored by various companies to show their support.
More telling than a few statistics however, was the overwhelmingly positive atmosphere that each and every volunteer helped carry throughout the day. Walking around during the wind down session, there was no slandering the government or targeting their inaction. Instead, there were smiles all round, encouraging words and a community brought together through harnessing a positive and proactive attitude.
We saw it as making the day as much about valuing the volunteers and their time, as it was about spreading the message of eco-awareness that we were supporting and hoping they’d take to heart- as a friend of ours put it “you can’t expect the message you’re spreading to hold any lasting impact if the people you are trying to reach don’t feel valued”.
Knowing that our community drive isn’t a substitute for a long-term solution to Hong Kong’s waste problem, we celebrate instead the fact that we have helped changed peoples perspective on these events and presented an alternative to the traditional and mundane beach clean up formula.
That in itself, we felt, was a huge success before even a single bag was picked up.
Wanting to take it a step further, a third event has been organised for this Sunday the 25th of September, with a focus on conservation efforts that can be observed in everyday life, with guest speakers from the ‘Last Straw Movement’ and ‘Lush’ introducing their eco-friendly products and explaining how they work.
We’re expecting another big turn out with the same positive atmosphere that made the last clean ups so successful.
So grab a friend and get down here for Sunday- you’re always welcome in the growing community of Stanley Beach Clean Up!
We hope to see you all there.
PH
Print House 