An update from Take 3 CEO, Sarah Beard
With today marking International Women’s Day it felt appropriate for my first Take 3 update of 2021. Of course, at Take 3 we are made up of so many wonderful people, but it is equally important to acknowledge Take 3 as an organisation that has many inspiring women leading the way in our work towards a world free of plastic pollution.
That inspiration starts with two of our founders, Roberta Dixon-Valk and Amanda Marechal, who along with Tim Silverwood, formed an organisation where a simple action could produce profound consequences and make a difference. That was 11 years ago, when plastic pollution was a little-known topic, but our founders were ahead of their time and showed exceptional leadership, in their vision to use education to inspire action on plastic pollution.
Fast-forward to today and both remain integral to the impactful and respected organisation we have become; one I am proud to lead as a female CEO and that has strong and passionate women throughout our core.
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Choose To Challenge. A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day’.
So, my message is simple, just like the one that remains the heartbeat of Take 3, choose to act today, and choose to help us make a difference.
Founders Amanda Marechal and Roberta Dixon-Valk discuss plastic pollution at a Take 3 event
As I write this letter, it is hard to believe I have just completed my first year as CEO. I last spoke to you at Christmas and talked about my pride in what we had achieved during a challenging year and I am delighted to report much of that hard work is now coming to fruition.
A big focus this year is youth leadership, and we have already announced our Youth Leadership Program and our Manning River Turtle Project, while our hugely successful Online Learning Program has returned. Our inaugural Youth Summit will also take place in June, giving more than 200 young student leaders the opportunity to further their knowledge in the field of conservation.
We also celebrated our partnership with global eco-conscious hair care brand AVEDA on Sunday with clean-ups taking place across Australia as part of Clean Up Australia Day.
Our partnership with AVEDA aims to raise awareness and fundraise $100,000 for Take 3 and also remove 1.5 million pieces of rubbish from our environment. On Sunday we took a big step towards that figure with clean ups at beaches in Sydney, Byron Bay, Perth and Melbourne.
Take 3 CEO Sarah Beard addresses guests at a recent Clean Up
The remainder of the year is equally as exciting and in the coming weeks we will announce the First Wave Pilot Project to tackle tourism-generated litter in New South Wales and our first Sydney CEO Clean Up, following the success of a similar model on the Central Coast.
We will also continue to reach beyond our shores and out into the Pacific with our Conflict Islands beach clean-up programs and as ever work tirelessly to set new goals, targets and programs including our very exciting Saltwater to Freshwater initiative, which will see Take 3 go upstream and take our message in to rural locations.
However, none of this is possible without you, so to every one of you who generously donates or supports us through action, thank you. We are all in this together and at Take 3 we will continue to be your voice to make the difference.
Sarah Beard – Take 3 CEO
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