Local State Farm Insurance agent Edie Williams presented a check for $2,500 to Beaches Go Green founder Anne Marie Moquin at her Ponte Vedra Beach office Sept. 21.
“State Farm corporate definitely supports being philanthropic in the community,” Williams said.
According to Williams, she had some funds available and reached out to a friend, who was able to put her in touch with Moquin.
“We connected and originally it was only supposed to be $500, but when we dug a little more into it, we were able to get $2,500,” Williams said.
Nonprofits like Beaches Go Green rely so heavily on community support to help drive their mission, it is a big deal anytime they receive a donation.
“It is just so awesome,” Moquin said. “Usually, we’re always trying to find people, so it’s really refreshing to have her (Williams) reach out like that. We’re super grateful.”
Beaches Go Green now has 13 student clubs at schools throughout the area, which takes a lot of Moquin’s time, but it is something she is happy to do, because she believes educating the next generation is the best way to instill change.
The majority of clubs are at schools in St. Johns County, but there are some in Duval County as well.
“It makes me so proud to see the kids get excited and really make a difference,” Moquin said.
Beaches Go Green has a big cleanup event coming up Oct. 8, which will be at Jacksonville Beach.
According to Moquin, past events have seen more than 400 participants come out to be part of the cleanup.
“The students behind the scenes, as well as helping with the cleanup,” Moquin said. “Last time we did it, we collected 75 bags of trash, which is a ton of trash. We also had a bunch of large items found and thousands of cigarette butts.”
Moquin used to do a lot more frequent cleanups, but in recent years she has shifted her primary focus on spreading education as well as having major cleanup days.
“I realized that we’re going to be cleaning up after our whole lives, if we focus just on cleanups,” Moquin said. “Instead, we have to also focus on education and changing the behaviors. Kids, especially the teenagers, are just so receptive to learning it.”
The event is free and open for everyone. Beaches Go Green will have sign-in booth setup just outside of the Jacksonville Beach Pier parking lot.
“Anybody can come out of any age, and that’s one of the beauties of a cleanup,” Moquin said.
The donation by Williams and State Farm will go toward helping Beaches Go Green continue its efforts both in the schools and with its cleanup.
Williams and members of her staff will be taking part in the cleanup as well.
Cleanup volunteers will be provided buckets and one washable and reusable glove for their dominant hand after signing up.
“If we run out of buckets, we’ve collected grain bags from local breweries, such as Southern Swells,” Moquin said.
“Finger food” will be provided by local community sponsors and donors during the cleanup.
