My passion in life is making a difference and inspiring people to make a difference. I am also inspired by people that make a difference. I met Alison by accident on the beachfront at Terrigal on the weekend.
I was sitting in a beachfront cafe having a coffee when I spotted a woman picking up all the discarded cigarette butts along the beachfront path, she was just wandering along picking them up, putting them in a bucket and occasionally stopping to say 'hello' to people passing by.
I thought, "what a terrible job, she must be working for the council as surely no-one would do this voluntarily". I watched her for a while and for some reason got the impression that maybe she wasn't being paid to do it, so I just had to ask, and you guessed it she wasn't.
I told her I couldn't believe she would be wasting a beautiful sunny Sunday picking up other peoples cigarette butts and asked if I could buy her a cup of coffee. So Alison sat down with me and told me the story. She is retired, from the UK and lives in the local area. On her morning strolls she noticed how ordinary the area looked and one Australia Day decided to do something about it.
She made up her own 'Bin your Butts' bins and put them out, expecting them to be destroyed by the following day.
Much to her surprise they were not only there the next day but they were full of butts. She then decided to take it a step further and pick up the ones that don't make it to a bin and she has now been doing this for years.
Not only does she do it but she has raised the bar, she now also calls the council if she discovers graffiti, vandalism or damage along the beachfront.
Alison says that it keeps her young and alive by giving her something purposeful to do, she gets great exercise, it makes sure she sees her elderly dad who lives at the other end of the beach each day, she gets to have conversations with heaps of people and she is doing something that makes a REAL difference to the community.
You might think that she would not have much time for smokers but she is quite the opposite, she feels sorry for them "they just want to relax and have a few puffs" she says and when she asks them to be more careful with their butts she says, "they are more than helpful". Not only does Alison do this herself but she also now has a website www.wastewarriorsworld.com dedicated to helping others do the same sort of thing all over the world.
I like the quote on the home page...
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has" Margaret Mead
If you see Alison in your travels, buy her a cup of coffee and take the time to have a chat with a remarkable lady who has chosen to get off her backside and make a REAL difference.
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