What Will You Find on Coastal Cleanup Day? Love

When I started working as Heal the Bay’s Coastal Cleanup Day Manager in 2007, I had no idea that I would end up finding the love of my life. That year, Heal the Bay worked with Councilmember Tony Cardenas’ office on the Northeast San Fernando Valley cleanup sites. I initially started off on the wrong foot with the cleanup captain, Olga. She tried to tell me how to run a cleanup site, but I was certain I knew how to do it better. Olga was concerned with breaking trash-collecting records while I wanted to ensure the best educational and efficient experience for volunteers. A year later, after a very successful cleanup, we started a friendship that led to love. We still laugh about which one of us knows how to do the job better, but I admit that her sites almost always break cleanup records.  So this past week, right before Coastal Cleanup Day, I married her. What will you find at Coastal Cleanup Day? I found love and I couldn’t be happier.

— Eveline Bravo-Ayala,
Heal the Bay’s Beach Program Manager

Join the biggest volunteer day on the planet, Coastal Cleanup Day, on Saturday, September 21, 2013 from 9 a.m. to noon. Tweet, Facebook or Instagram us with the hashtag #whatwillyoufind to share your unique Coastal Cleanup Day discoveries!

Eveline Bravo, middle, with wife Olga Ayala and Congressmember Tony Cardenas.