Tennessee youth organization sweeps Grayton Beach

By Gabriel Tynes

Eleven young men from an eastern Tennessee Jewish youth group collected several bags of garbage from Grayton Beach State Park last month as part of a summer leadership program. The ?Winick at the Beach? program, sponsored by the Winick AZA in Knoxville, emphasized education, Judaism, community service, athletics and social outreach.
Patrick Hartsfield, park service specialist at Grayton Beach State Park said the group was one of several volunteer units that has helped maintain the cleanliness of the beach this year.
Hartsfield directed the 90-minute cleanup effort and used the opportunity to conduct an interpretive talk with the group.
?A clean beach isn?t only important for beachgoers,? Hartsfield said. ?Wildlife and the ecosystem depend on it.?
Hartsfield noted the detrimental aspects of certain types of garbage like plastic bags and rope that can entangle shorebirds or sea turtles. He said the group collected about five large garbage bags full of refuse from a half-mile portion of the beach.
Winick members said they retrieved fishing lines, bottles, Styrofoam, plastic bags, drinking straws, a gas container and various toys during the effort.
?It definitely makes you more aware of what you throw away,? said Daniel Roberts, one of the members of the group. Roberts said they even found some of their own items that were lost during a scavenger hunt the previous day. ?We could?ve stayed out there all day.?
As a part of the B?nai B?rith Youth Organization, the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) is the leadership component of BBYO for 9th through 12th grade males. Since its establishment in 1924, AZA has provided Jewish and personal enrichment to hundreds of thousands of young men throughout the world. Its Hebrew letters stand for eternal love, benevolence and harmony.
Chapter 420 of Knoxville is named after Issac Winick, the first Rabbi of the Heska Amuna Congregation.