Around 70 people from businesses in and around Brighton joined us for a beach clean last week to help keep our surroundings clean and tidy.
Anyone that lives or works in Brighton loves the summer; spending time at the beach, enjoying a cool drink by the sea or a dip in the sea. But we also regularly see the impact that the increased numbers of visitors have on the seafront.
It’s not unusual to see discarded fast food packaging, plastic or glass bottles, and a wide range of other rubbish left on the beach long after people have headed home.
Which is why we organised our fifth annual charity beach clean last week, with a great prize for the winning team kindly donated by the Ivy in the Lanes in Brighton.
So, on a hot and sunny day, around 70 people from a range of different businesses from Brighton to London, met at the beach near the Palace Pier to collect their gloves, litter-pickers and bin bags ready to clear rubbish from the beach and raise money for us.
Teams participating in the event donated either £75, for a team of 5, or £140, for a team of 10, to Rockinghorse which could help fund a range of projects to support children across Sussex.
And as an extra incentive, the team that collected the most rubbish within their allotted hour won a £150 voucher to treat their team to a meal at the Ivy!
Laura Curtis, Fundraising Management for Rockinghorse, said: “We’re so lucky to live so close to the seafront in Brighton, as do so many others, and it’s common for people working locally to head down there for lunch, especially during the summer months. But unfortunately, there’s often loads of rubbish and mess around, so it makes it not quite as nice.
“Thousands of visitors come to Brighton every year so there will inevitably be some mess left behind but it’s great that so many local businesses want to come along and help to keep our surroundings as beautiful as possible.”
And it certainly was a beautiful day for everyone to pick up their gloves, litter pickers and bin bags and get collecting.
The largest team on the day were from Advanta Wealth, who came down from London for a team day out, taking part in the beach clean as part of their day.
The team really enjoyed their day, with Executive Assistant Hazel Butterfield saying, “What a fantastic day spent helping to keep Brighton’s beautiful coastline clean! It was inspiring to join so many volunteers who gave their time to make a real difference to our local environment.
“Not only did we collect a surprising amount of litter, but we also helped protect marine wildlife and preserve our beaches for everyone to enjoy. The sense of community, teamwork and shared purpose made the experience even more rewarding.”
A huge thank you to Rockinghorse Children’s Charity and everyone who took part. Small actions really do add up, and together we can create a cleaner, greener future. I’d highly recommend getting involved in a future beach clean – it’s a great way to give back, meet wonderful people and make a positive impact.
There was fierce competition amongst the teams to pick the most litter with groups from LCW Consulting, Higgidy, Legal and General, Engage Health Group and Advanta Wealth taking up the challenge.
Each team had a one-hour slot to collect their rubbish and return to have it weighed to find out who had collected the most. Thanks to everyone who took part, we collected a massive 60kg of rubbish from the beach surrounding the Palace Pier.
And to make the competition fair as some teams were bigger than others, we took the average weight of litter collected from each team. The team from LCW Consulting, based in Haywards Heath, ended up as the winners, picking up the most amount of litter and winning the prize for their team.
Thanks so much to everyone who took part in this great event.
Keep an eye out for more chances to get your business involved in a fun activity to help fundraise for us. Or take a look at how your company can fundraise for us here.
