By ODA Hawai’i Island Chapter Leader Sarah Milisen
As summer is winding down, kids are back to school, and some of us are a bit overwhelmed with news/media/politics, I thought I'd share a GOOD story of childhood.
I once was a little girl, offering lemonade stand juices for $0.25 back in my day. Mom would help me juice all the extra lemons we had on a backyard tree, we would add way too much sugar to our lemon liquid, add some water (for profit, of course), and then work on creating my advertising and marketing campaign. Little dixie cups purchased on loan, hoping to recover costs of those paper cups, I started a business. Back then, it was for me. Pure profit for my own greed.
Nowadays, I’m finding children (even at a young age) feel a sense of purpose. They know they’re inheriting a problemed Earth. They WANT to help. So, they do what they can. And when underaged workers want to help raise money for lovely causes, they open up a lemonade stand.
Here enters Abby and her friend Solea, both 10 years old, and marketing gurus. They have found a need and want to help. Lemonade pitchers assembled, tables drawn, and marketing propaganda erected. They are ready for war - War Against Marine Debris!
Abby and Solea campaigned tirelessly for their own sense of patriotism - and their 4th of July was celebrated by giving back to Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA). They sold lemonade portions with a percentage of their sales going directly back to ODA - to help support our marine debris removal efforts. And this isn't the first time she's helped support ODA!
Abby and her family have visited Hawai'i Island several times and volunteered at more than one cleanup here! Abby is not yet a certified diver (though she's trying it and likes it!) so she picked up nearby trash on the beach before it went into the ocean, while mom went scuba diving for underwater debris.
Families that volunteer together build strong values—and their children also wind up caring for things that are important to their lives—like cleaner oceans, marine life free from entanglement, and coral reefs that can thrive.
GREAT WORK, Abby, Solea, and families for your hard work, dedication, and true passion for conservation in everything you do. MAHALO from all of us at ODA and the salty ones!
