Tampa, Fla. – On Monday January 20, 2014, from 10:30am – 1:30pm, a student led coastal cleanup project will take place by foot and by paddleboard in Tampa Bay. The event, titled 1 Day 1 Bay, will begin in the parking lot at the new restaurant, The Getaway, located at 13040 Gandy Blvd N, St Petersburg, FL 33702.

This student-powered event is in partnership with the Sustainable Business Coalition of Tampa Bay and the Sustany Foundation, organized using social media, and is supported by the law firm of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, which will have several representatives on site to assist with the cleanup.

A primary theme that runs deep throughout the Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick law firm is that Shumaker lawyers get involved. They are involved with their clients, involved in the community, and encourage others to become involved in doing good, as well. Shumaker attorney Andrew McIntosh has sought to do just that in supporting firm client and business owner, Dave Burton, as he seeks to establish a new commercial venture in the Tampa Bay area.

Burton is a co-owner of Pizza Fusion, located in downtown Tampa. Soon, he and a partner will be opening The Getaway restaurant, a new waterfront destination for food and beverages, on the south side of the Gandy Causeway.

McIntosh leads the Sustainable Business Coalition of Tampa Bay (SBC), which is a not-for-profit organization focused on promoting sustainability in business to advance the interests of people, planet and profit, what the organization calls the “Triple Bottom-line.”

In advance of the opening of The Getaway, Burton and McIntosh decided to bring some colleagues together to clean up a portion of the coastline in the vicinity of the new restaurant.

“The Getaway will be a Florida Keys inspired hot spot that offers visitors a unique way to experience our beautiful coastline with tiki bars, sunset celebrations, entertainment, food trucks, paddle boarding, and more. We overlook the wildlife preserve area on Weedon Island which can accumulate debris from high boater traffic, so our idea was to combine our grand opening with a coastline cleanup,” said Dave Burton.

Promoting the Triple Bottom-line is important to Burton as he operates his businesses. Pizza Fusion was awarded the Sustainable Business Award in 2012, an award conferred by the SBC (then known as Earth Charter US). The Getaway too will be “operated with a view to supporting the Triple Bottom-line, which includes good environmental stewardship and job creation,” remarked Burton. The SBC has a friendly working relationship with another not-for-profit organization, the Sustany Foundation. “Our strengths complement those of the Sustany Foundation,” said McIntosh. “They have excellent resources in sustainability. Their leadership and personnel, including David Reed, Larry Sullivan and Executive Director Jenna Civitello, are first class. Together we can do more while having a lot of fun,” said attorney McIntosh, “by coordinating business, not-for-profit organizations and student volunteers.”

The lead student for the project is McIntosh’s daughter, Plant High School sophomore student, Arden McIntosh. “We’re making the shoreline more attractive and helping a new business get started on the right foot, fueled by great pizza. No problem getting students out for this one!” chimed in Arden McIntosh.

The Sustany Foundation has the technology, Comm[YOU]nity, to connect volunteers to service projects and nonprofit organizations. “The online program helped us promote the event to students across Tampa Bay, and we quickly had 20 students sign up from Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties, with more coming,” said Jenna Civitello, Sustany Foundation Executive Director. “We are thrilled that students have taken this on during a day that the whole country celebrates as a day of service and remembers the important work of a true community leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.,” she said.

At the 1 Day 1 Bay event, student volunteers from across Tampa Bay will remove debris from the bay by foot and by paddleboard, while learning a little more about the shoreline and ecosystem from the Sustany Foundation. Pizza Fusion will provide a much-deserved lunch.

The Sustany Foundation was organized in 2007 to improve the quality of life in Tampa Bay by promoting sustainability. Sustany leads local initiatives such as the Sustainable Business Program for the City of Tampa, Comm[YOU]nity volunteer connection, and annual Sustainable Buzz. For more information go to: www.Sustany.org

The Sustainable Business Coalition was established in 2004. Through its partnership with the University of Tampa’s College of Business Center for Ethics, the Coalition organizes and presents events and provides support to businesses that embrace the Triple Bottom-line. Visit: www.sustainablebusinesscoalitiontampabay.org

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Founded in 1925, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP is a full service business law firm with more than 225 attorneys practicing in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio; Tampa and Sarasota, Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina.