PRA Group Employees Hit the Beach for June Beach Cleanup
NORFOLK, Va., Jun. 26, 2024 – Throughout the month of June, employees from across PRA Group’s international business united to positively impact the ecosystems of beaches around the world. At our sites in the U.S. and U.K., colleagues organized events centered around improving their local beaches through volunteering and philanthropic giving. Charitable initiatives like this one are vital for restoring the ocean’s diverse habitats. The National Oceanography Center estimates that there’s still approximately 220.4 million tons of plastic in the Atlantic Ocean, making it more important than ever to take action and raise awareness.
PRA Group launched the initiative on June 1 as the presenting sponsor of Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Clean the Bay Day, an annual Virginia tradition that dates back to 1989. Since then, the event has drawn more than 60,000 volunteers to help beautify the Chesapeake Bay’s 8,250 miles (about 13277.09 km) of coastline. Clean the Bay Day also provides volunteers with educational resources to inform how they can work year-round to combat threats that are less visible than litter, but just as dangerous, like habitat loss and nutrient pollution. This year, over 2,870 volunteers across Virginia helped to remove more than 64,000 pounds (about 29029.89 kg) of debris from the Bay. In addition to being the leading sponsor of the day itself, PRA Group helped extend Clean the Bay Day events throughout the month to follow, as teams of PRA Group volunteers have continued to partner with the Cheasapeake Bay Foundation to do work that is critical to sustaining our environment.
“The sheer amount of trash we removed from the shore and ocean this month emphasizes how impactful these cleanups are to nurturing the ocean’s ecosystems. People love to go to the beach in the summertime, so it’s a perfect opportunity to remind us of the steps we can take to prevent this level of debris in the future,” said Manager of Corporate Events and Community Engagement Jillian Talley. “We were thrilled not only to present Clean the Bay Day, but to find ways to unite globally in making our shores and oceans healthier.”
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, our colleagues pursued the same effort. Our U.K. teams partnered with The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit focused on removing litter from the ocean—and finding ways to prevent it from getting there in the first place—to host a children’s art competition on World Oceans Day. World Oceans Day was established to promote public interest in protecting the oceans and sustainably managing its resources. For every ocean-themed creation children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of PRA Group employees submitted to the competition, PRA Group donated €2 to the Ocean Cleanup, helping them continue their efforts to remove millions of pounds of litter from the Atlantic Ocean.
About PRA Group
As a global leader in acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans, PRA Group, Inc. returns capital to banks and other creditors to help expand financial services for consumers in the Americas, Europe and Australia. With thousands of employees worldwide, PRA Group companies collaborate with customers to help them resolve their debt. For more information, please visit www.pragroup.com.
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