by Noella Noelophile®
Justin Rudd at Operation Easter Basket assembly in 2019.
Happy Silver Anniversary to Justin Rudd!
This Saturday, June 15th, marks the 25th anniversary of the event which marked his start as Long Beach’s “Chief Inspiration Officer”.
That would be his 30-Minute Beach Cleanup. And you’re invited to the 25-year celebration, at 1 Granada Avenue, in Long Beach.
And yes, there will be cake!
Justin’s website offers two different choices of times for arrival.
For “super volunteers”, plan on showing up just before 9:30 that morning. Please bring used plastic grocery bags, if you have them. Gloves, trash bags and beachfront parking will be provided.
Or, if you prefer, you can also start at 10 am. And at 10:35, the “cleanup” part is over–and it’ll be time to cut the cake.
Here’s the link for advance registration.
A “cornucopia” for community
“Operation Easter Basket”, Bayshore Church, 2015.
Now, if you’re a Long Beach local, you know that the “30-Minute Beach Cleanup” was just the beginning, for Justin and his nonprofit “Community Action Team”.
Annually, they host more than 60 community events in Long Beach.
Red High Heels Walk, 2019.
My favorites include their Christmas Cookie Contest, “Operation Santa Paws”, the “Red High Heels Walk for Heart Health”, the “Bulldog Beauty Contest” and “Operation Easter Basket”, which was a yearly tradition for us, pre-pandemic.
I also admit to “howling” with joy at the “Haute Dogs Howl’oween Parade”. And to never missing a “Great American Kids’ Bike Parade”, prior to the pandemic.
But those are just a few of the possibilities.
Great American Kids’ Bike Parade, 2015.
Here is a link to CAT’s upcoming “Community Calendar of Events”. Upcoming ones include the 16th annual “Say Cheese Long Beach digital photo contest, in September; the “Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest”, in October; and the “Long Beach Turkey Trot”, in November.
Bulldog Beauty Contest, 2018.
Congratulations and thank you to Justin, for “imagining, dreaming and discovering” a better Long Beach community!
And here’s a 2013 interview we did, in which he talks about his creative activism.
Justin Rudd interview, Part One
Justin Rudd interview, Part Two
Justin Rudd interview, Part Three
Justin Rudd interview, Part Four