Earth Protect Blog

New video, fundraising campaign, website highlights mission to bring educational nonprofit to U.S., Asia, Africa

Kids Ocean Day, a unique, nonprofit organization teaching children the importance of coastal quality issues, is expanding its youth-oriented educational program and hands-on adopt-a-beach cleanup worldwide. With a new website and video campaign, Kids Ocean Day is hoping to raise enough funding to reach millions of children this year – motivating a new generation of clean ocean advocates.

Recognizing the impact that today’s youth has at protecting one of the planet’s most vital resources, Kids Ocean Day founder Michael Klubock created the groundbreaking program that not only teaches children about environmental issues, but also gives them hands-on exposure to the beach. This visit, sometimes a child’s first time seeing the beach, gives the children a critical and personal understanding of how they impact the oceans and what needs to be done to protect it. The students then participate in an aerial art project, which serves as their first act of environmental advocacy, telling the public — through a massive art installation — to keep the beaches clean.

“These kids get to make a connection they might have never made before, one that hopefully will leave a lasting impression,” Klubock said of Kids Ocean Day. “If you don’t get a kid out into the parks, if they don’t get to appreciate the beach, the water, the beauty of it — when it comes time to respect and care for it, they’re not going to fully understand.”

More than 670,000 students in California have participated in Kids Ocean Day in the last 21 years. This year, Kids Ocean Day is hoping reach millions of children around the globe. The nonprofit will be releasing a new video campaign, produced by Earth Protect, highlighting the initiatives and impact this program has on not only the children, but also our oceans. The goal will be to raise enough funding so that the nonprofit can bring Kids Ocean Day to countries around the globe, from the U.S. to Hong Kong to Ethiopia.

“The trash is piling up, and we are choking ourselves,” Klubock said. “We need these children to know that each and every one of them can make an impact. If we start now and give them the tools and education to protect the environment, who knows what effect that can have down the line.”

About Kids Ocean Day:
Kids Ocean Day is dedicated to a healthy and sustainable planet for all life by educating and motivating kids into action. The nonprofit organization brings a unique opportunity to underserved communities to get children’s feet and hands in the sand during the annual adopt-a-beach cleanup. In addition, an educational program is brought to the school to teach kids the effects that littering and other manmade waste has on the oceans and what each child can do to make a difference. The program has been presented over 4,300 times to more than 670,000 children. Each year, the children partake in an aerial art installation, which spreads the message about clean oceans far beyond the classroom. It is this experience that connects kids to the beaches and oceans and contributes to their appreciation of our shared resources.