What turns an eastside girl into a hardcore volunteer for westside beachy nonprofit Heal the Bay? Ask 29-year-old Atwater Village resident Siobhan (pronounced sha-von) Dolan, who works in commercial production but also dedicates full time hours for Heal the Bay, and she’ll say it started with a simple volunteer meeting.

Siobhan will speak at Blogger Beach Cleanup about what YOU can do for the environment through Heal the Bay — but here’s what she had to say about what inspires her to put serious time into eco-volunteerism.

Being on the east side, why did you decide to volunteer for Heal the Bay, as opposed to other eco-nonprofits like Treepeople?

I do volunteer with Treepeople as well, but there was something incredible about the way Heal the Bay utilizes its volunteers. Essentially, I can feel like I am a full time employee — and that I’m building Heal the Bay as much as a full time employee there. I think they’ve very smartly come up with ways that anybody in L.A. can make a big difference. They make learning about how one person can make a difference so accessible to anyone. And it’s something that I’ve just fallen in with. It opens up a whole new world.

What do you do for Heal the Bay?

I started off just doing simple volunteer events. Then it grew into being an Ambassador, which is tabling events, and I got to speak to people about Heal the Bay around the city. And now I’ve joined the speakers bureau — I love speaking the most.

I think it’s something that’s attractive to my personality, being very forthright and very open. I tend to feel the most connected to other volunteers that way. I know that I’m going to speak to a group where they’ve asked Heal the Bay to be there and they’re excited to learn. It’s very thrilling to me. I’ve made a lot of new friends all around the city just from speaking on behalf of Heal the Bay. I get to become living knowledge about Heal the Bay and about our city in L.A. and about the issues — and what we can do to change it.

There are so many environmental issues in the world. How do you deal with the overload and still stay motivated?

It’s something that I have to put in perspective every day. You can always get overwhelmed with too much information — especially when there’s that consistent doomsday kind of attitude that you’re met with. When I start to feel overwhelmed, I have to always remember the bigger picture here. That overall, my individual effort is one that will benefit the greater good. And when you keep it in check, I think you have a more positive attitude about things.

Not every solution we may have is going to 100% solve anything, but it’s always one step forward from where it was the day before. And that’s all that we can hope for. I can lead to 1 other person maybe changing — it all comes down to the power of one. And many ones will make a large group that will make a big change.

How can volunteers stay motivated?

Find something that makes you smile, and makes you feel like you’ve accomplished more than your full time job in a whole week. A whole new set of hours will seem to open up for you.

Granted, I don’t know when I’ve slept in on a weekend in who knows how many months. But in the end, I never feel like I’m actually missing out on anything. I always feel fulfilled after every event, whether I go for an hour or 4 hours. It really keeps me going.
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Meet Siobhan and hear her speak about Heal the Bay at the Blogger Beach Cleanup, which is an official Heal the Bay event! You can also read some of Siobhan’s articles at Green Nation Today.

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