MDROCC members unite to perform a variety of community service projects and make a difference in the community.
PARTNERING WITH LOCAL YOUTH PROGRAMS
MDROCC provides opportunities for local youth programs and other groups to experience a trip to the beach and a chance to learn Hawaiian outrigger canoe paddling in the marina.
MDROCC has partnered with the Boys & Girls Club, the Los Angeles Junior Lifeguard program and other youth organizations - providing children access to local team members who provide instruction and club equipment. Some of these children live in the inner city and have never been to the beach, making this experience all the more impactful and important to them. They learn about the sport, Hawaiian and Polynesian culture, ocean safety, nutrition, fitness and the amazing sea life in the area.
Other organizations the Marina del Rey Outrigger Canoe Club has worked with, and continues to reach out to, includes Makapo, LA Blind, Zeno Mountain Farms and ARCC Center Stage Childcare Program.
BEACH & OCEAN CLEAN-UPS
Marina Outrigger paddlers are passionate about protecting the environment and they do what they can to keep the world around them pristine. They work to clean up trash in the marina and ocean, when they are at paddling practice or on their single man crafts, such as a one-man outrigger canoe or surfski. It is not uncommon to see paddlers arriving back at Mother's Beach with large bags of trash that they picked up during a long ocean paddle.
MDROCC's junior and adult paddlers ensure we regularly clean up Mother's Beach where the team is based. Marina Outrigger holds larger, quarterly events during which volunteers pick up trash and perform more substantial maintenance and beautifying projects.
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH FOR WILDLIFE
Paddlers also act as a watchdog of sorts for birds and mammals they encounter. They have stopped to rescue sea life entangled in fishing wire and other debris, as well as call-in ocean mammal and bird rescue organizations to help save sea life when circumstances require professional intervention.
Should you happen to see a marine animal in distress, please call:
Marine Animal Rescue
Marine mammal or sea bird EMERGENCIES in Southern California
1 (800) 39-WHALE
Non-Emergencies
1 (310) 455-2729