Forty-seven hardy, community minded volunteers braved the blustering winds, sprinkling rain, and chilly temperature to clean the beach as part of the Alliance for the Great Lakes initiative to clean the lakes and protect the waters of the lakes. While the weather was daunting, as Lion Tobi Marvin noted, “Service is about serving when the call comes, not necessarily when it’s convenient or comfortable for you.”

Volunteers – adults and children – came from across the community including Americold Logistics, Nestle Purina, local Boy Scouts Troop 267, Cub Scouts Pack 267, Fredonia State, Hamburg High School, and Lions Club members. People from a cross section of the community who felt that this cleaning was worth giving up a few hours on a Saturday morning to make our community better.

Collectively, the group pulled 181.5 pounds of garbage from the beach area. Trash ranged from tires and carpet remnants, to cigarette butts and microplastic pieces. Some trash was clearly washing in from the lake but it was obvious that quite a bit was from beach and park goers simply dropping trash instead of finding a trash can. The volunteers hope that the public will take greater care to pick up after themselves and keep our community clean.

The Lions Club is grateful for the community willingness to help with the beach cleaning. And, as always, the Club is looking for new members who desire to make the local community a better place. The Dunkirk Fredonia Lions Club can be found on Facebook, or by calling 716-672-8509 for more information.