Alya Mehrtash staff writer
Five members of the Interact Club attended a Heal the Bay beach cleanup event at Santa Monica Beach on Saturday, April 20.
Members of Interact acted on the organization’s mission of “[uniting] and [taking] action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves” by taking the initiative to create change in their local community. 
Heal the Bay is an LA-based nonprofit organization “dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds of Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy and clean.”
The four main mediums utilized by Heal the Bay to work toward their mission include “science, education, community action and advocacy.” By contributing to their “community action,” president of the Interact Club senior Estella Rosen was able to see firsthand the positive impact her work made.
“It’s always great volunteering in events like beach cleanups because you can see in the moment the tangible evidence that you’re doing good,” Rosen said.
Over 1,000 volunteers attended the cleanup, working collectively to help the environment. Representatives of Heal the Bay took to Instagram to post about the event’s success.
“1,072 volunteers removed 271 pounds of trash and debris today! Most of it was cigarette butts and tiny plastic trash,” they wrote.
Despite the local scale of the cleanup, Rosen learned of the impact such events can have on the greater community.
“The biggest takeaway is that there’s always something we can do on a small local level,” she said. “Like doing a beach cleanup, that can have greater effects.”