Sarasota Chamber pitches in with post-holiday cleanup

The holiday weekend may have come and gone, but that didn't keep the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce from heading for the shoreline. 

The chamber hosted a post-Labor Day cleanup event at Siesta Key Public Beach. The event came about after chamber Membership and Events Coordinator Megan Neal and Communications Coordinator Dillon Buckland attended Sarasota County's Fourth of July beach cleanup. 

"We realized there is kind of a need for it after holidays when there is increased use for our beaches," Buckland said. 

After learning the county didn't have plans for a post-Labor Day clean-up effort, Neal and Buckland put the chamber's network to work. 

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, Visit Sarasota County, Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources and the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce all pitched in to pick up the Labor Day litter. 

Buckland said the chamber is no stranger to chipping in. It provides economic opportunities to its members, but this, he said, is an atypical opportunity for the organization. 

"We help in economic development," he said. "But not so much providing volunteer opportunities for people."

The event garnered attention on social media, attracting residents as well as those affiliated with the sponsoring organizations.

"It's good to see it," Buckland said. "It's just a different way people are seeing the chamber than they normally would."