Beach Buzz: Forty Miami-Dade sites to participate in Coastal Cleanup Day

International Coastal Cleanup Day takes place 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at 40 different sites across Miami-Dade County. Local organizers, VolunteerCleanup.org, expect more than 3,000 volunteers to collect five tons of trash from 30 miles of coastline.

Spearheaded by the Ocean Conservancy, the worldwide event, now in its 30th year, attracts hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the globe.

“Volunteers do more than just pick up trash: They document every bag, bowling ball and bottle cap,” said Dara Schoenwald, executive director of Miami Beach-based VolunteerCleanup.org. “While we cannot possibly pick up all of the trash in the ocean by hand, events like this can be tremendously effective and impactful for raising awareness about the root of the problem.”

One big problem, Schoenwald said: cigarette butts. “People don’t realize they’re made of plastic and are not biodegradable.”

After the cleanup, volunteers are invited to the eighth annual Everglades Awareness Benefit Concert at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St. in Miami beginning at 4 pm. Entry is a $10 donation and guests must be 21 or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

For cleanup sites and registration information, visit: volunteercleanup.org/mdcc.

The Art Of Fashion

Neiman Marcus Bal Harbour hosted more than 150 women for a luncheon and runway fashion show Sept. 8 to benefit the Miami Beach JCC.

The event featured men’s and women’s designer fall fashions with commentary by publicist Tara Solomon and Neiman Marcus Bal Harbour’s Vice President/General Manager, Frances Salgado. Must-haves for fall: “anything fringe, hoodie jackets and lots of cream and white.”

Co-chairs for the event were Barbara Herskowitz and Hollen Rosenberg. A raffle for a $2,300 Givenchy handbag (donated by Neiman Marcus Bal Harbour) was won by Mojdeh Danial (for the second year in a row).

Women Who Care

The Miami-Dade Chapter of 100+ Women Who Care will host its third meeting 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, at Canvas Miami, 1630 NE First Ave. in Wynwood.

The nonprofit group — an offshoot of 100+ Women Who Care South Florida — was launched in November 2014 and held their first official meeting in January 2015.

“It’s a great outlet for networking and philanthropy that requires minimal time and money,” said founding executive committee member Terri Echarte of Miami Beach.

Members commit to donate $100 per quarter ($400 per year). The group meets quarterly and hears presentations about three local charities (vetted in advance). Members then vote to select one charity to receive the funds for that quarter.

Thanks to a grant from The Richard M. Schulze Foundation, every new $100 member donation in South Florida this year will be matched by $200 from the family foundation.

To date, the Miami-Dade Chapter, which currently has more than 60 members (and is seeking to grow to more than 100), has donated $3,400 to Autism and Music and more than $5,000 to Fore Life, a nonprofit that uses the game of golf to empower at-risk kids.

The Sept. 29 meeting is open to members and prospective members. To RSVP, visit miamidademeeting.eventbrite.com. For further details, visit 100womenwhocaresouthflorida.org.

Dream In Green

To commemorate its 10th anniversary, the nonprofit Dream in Green has launched The Academy — a platform for environmental education programs for K-12 students in South Florida. It includes The Green Schools Challenge, The Water and Energy, Learning and Behavior (WE-LAB) program and Green City Challenge. Teachers are invited to apply for the free programs through September 18 online at dreamingreen.org/gsc-application/. A professional development training session will be held Sept. 23 at Westland Hialeah Senior High. For details, call 786-574-4909 or visit dreamingreen.org.

Champions Of Business

More than 250 people attended the ninth annual Champions of Business luncheon hosted by the Emerging Leadership Council of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, held Aug. 28 at the St. Regis, Bal Harbour. Co-chairs for the Emerging Leadership Council are Joshua Levy and Richard Segal.

The luncheon panel featured Miami Beach director Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys); Jessica Goldman, CEO of Goldman Properties; Ralph Pagano, chef/owner of Miami Beach’s Naked Taco; and fashion designer Rene Ruiz. Moderator was Eddie Dominguez, senior vice president of event sponsor City National Bank.

“It’s always interesting to see and hear how business leaders have achieved a high level of success and what their ‘secret sauce’ is,” chamber Chairman Michael S. Goldberg said.

Speaking of “secret sauce,” minutes before the event started, organizers had to scramble to find Pagano and Corben, who had snuck away to have a drink at the bar.

Next up for the chamber: a real estate luncheon Sept. 24. For information and/or tickets, visit miamibeachchamber.com.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Beach Buzz: Forty Miami-Dade sites to participate in Coastal Cleanup Day."