Now we need your help for 2021.
Hello. How are you all? I hope things are okay and you are ready for what will be a strange Christmas for everyone. At least we are able to go out and pick up litter in these strange times. If anything, the litter problem has got worse this year as people are discarding PPE and spending more time outdoors. We’ve also had a significant container spill. So it’s fair to say we haven’t stopped working.
Neither have you. You’ve been amazing in 2020, that’s for sure, even though things might have been tough on many fronts.
2020 has been tough for us too. We’ve kept going as best we can – inspiring change and encouraging as many people as possible to get out and pick up – but now we need to ask something of you.
If we are to continue into 2021 and beyond we need your help.
When I started beach cleaning it was something I did for myself, for my kids and for the planet. I did it for my mental health too (although I didn’t realise it at the time). Then, when the idea of the 2 Minute Beach Clean came about, I pushed it because it seemed to have such resonance with everyone who came into contact with it. I was determined that we shouldn’t follow other organisations by offering membership schemes or subscriptions because I truly believe that nothing should be a barrier to picking up litter. I just wanted to get as many people involved as possible and to bring new people to beach cleaning. If that includes you I am truly grateful. At some point I hoped you and others would join your local beach cleaning groups, join the MCS or SAS and get involved with their campaigns.
I hoped that the #2minutebeachclean would just be the start of the journey and that you would go on to great things. And you have.
Today, some 7 years later, we have become a charity and we still don’t have a membership scheme – and we never will – because you shouldn’t have to pay to belong to our tribe.
On a personal level I worked on the project unpaid until this year and will be working unpaid again next year. I also donate my share of the UK royalties from ‘No. More. Plastic.’ to the 2 Minute Foundation. Walker Books donate 20p from each copy of ‘Kids Fight Plastic’ to the 2 Minute Foundation too. I love that!
What we do with the funding we receive from grants, individuals and companies:
- We are constantly on social media, supporting beach cleaners and inspiring new people to start beach cleaning and picking up. When I first started the #2minutebeachclean I figured if I could get one other person picking up it would double my efforts. Now we have around 75,000 followers across all social media platforms and I couldn’t be happier.
- This year, after it became clear some of you need a little help, we sent Dolly, who works tirelessly on her phone, on a course to be a mental health first responder so she could better recognise the signs when you need help.
- We tracked the recent sewage spill of nappies and pads so that you could get updates.
- We have set up a network of Guardian Angels to look after our beach clean stations in the South West. We are working on funding the rest of the UK so that ALL our stations can work at their best and your local communities can be supported and inspired on the ground.
- All our Guardian Angels attend our Angel Academy where we teach them how to run beach cleans, educate and engage their local community and be better beach cleaners and ocean advocates. We plan to expand this to bring together all kinds of other training such as becoming a BDMLR medic or learning how to do an MCS Survey.
- We have set up over 900 beach clean and litter picking stations around the UK and Ireland and inspired beach cleaning groups and individuals to start their beach cleaning journeys.
- We are in the process of setting up a Beach School in Bude, and hope to expand this to your community once we know it works.
- Through my books, lectures, social media and our newsletters (like this one) we offer ideas and tips for living more plastic-clever lives.
- We run campaigns to inspire people to pick up litter, live without plastic and to stay positive during tough times.
- We are planning a 2 Minute Forest in our first #2minuteregeneration project.
- We turn discarded tents into reusable beach cleaning bags to place in our stations.
Where our funding comes from
We have survived by putting the profit from our beach cleaning stations back into the organisation, along with profits from our shop. We work with corporates to develop projects. We have recently received Lottery funding to set up the Beach School and offer education for kids in North Devon and Cornwall. We are grateful to supporters like Surfdome, Fjallraven, Bunzl and the CBI South West for the support they give us.
We don’t often ask you, our family and supporters to get involved financially. But we need your help now. If we are to continue doing all we do into 2021 we need support, both in kindness and financially. So if you can help, please do.
I realise it’s a big ask to put your hands in your pockets, and especially now. But without support we won’t be able to continue doing what we do into 2021 and beyond.
- Donate £2 by texting 2MINUTE to 70460 to send us a one-off donation of £2.
- Make a one-off donation via our website. CLICK HERE.
£3 makes a beach clean bag out of discarded tent material.
- Adopt a beach clean station for you or a friend (a cool Xmas pressie). CLICK HERE.
£10 per month helps to look after your favourite beach clean station and keep it topped up with bags and pickers.
- Donate regularly. CLICK HERE.
£15 buys a litter picker for a beach clean station.
- Fundraise for a beach clean station. CLICK HERE.
£400 puts a station on your local beach.
- Fundraise to train and kit out a Guardian Angel.
£1000 helps us to recruit, train and equip a Guardian Angel to inspire local communities and look after up to 10 of our beach cleaning stations.
- Buy your Xmas presents from our shop. CLICK HERE.
Every penny of profit goes towards running our campaigns and cleaning up the planet 2 minutes at a time.
THANK YOU!!!!
The 2 Minute Foundation blog 