Saturn Sponsors Beach Cleaning Effort Surrounding X Games, Awards Donation To Surfrider Foundation

Community Event Is No Ordinary Day At The Beach

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF. - In line with its longstanding commitment to the environment and the communities in which they do business, Saturn has partnered with the Surfrider Foundation, the City of Huntington Beach and local Saturn retailers to sponsor the "eXtreme Beach Clean Up" at the famous Huntington Beach Pier. The southern California Saturn retailers also presented a $10,000 donation to the Surfrider Foundation to assist its efforts in purchasing equipment for testing local water quality with representatives from the City of Huntington Beach looking on with appreciation.

With over 200 community and Saturn volunteers and members of Surfrider's southern California chapters helping the cause, the "eXtreme Beach Clean Up" in Huntington Beach helped make the beach look its best just prior to the start of ESPN's X Games IX Surfing competition.

"Partnering with the Surfrider Foundation in this worthwhile effort enables us to share in the extreme passion people have for the surf, sand and sports," said Saturn representative Heidi Healey. "It also fits with the Saturn philosophy of protecting the environment and conserving natural resources, as well as a long-standing commitment to community service."

Surfrider said a significant portion of the $10,000 donation from Saturn will go directly toward the purchase of advanced water quality testing equipment recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which will act as an enabler to meet or exceed existing water environmental standards.

"Water quality degradation continues to be one of the top threats along Orange County beaches," says Huntington / Seal Beach Chapter activist Don Schulz. "This donation from Saturn will allow us to use the best testing methods possible to monitor water quality problems in our community and work to address some of the causes."

The balance of the donation will be directed toward Surfrider Foundation programs and initiatives, including its "Respect The Beach" educational campaign, "Beachscape" coastal mapping campaign and "Blue Water Task Force" water quality monitoring campaign. These campaigns and initiatives are crucial in assisting the foundation's 60 grassroots chapters, including its 10 Southern California chapters, to address coastal issues within each community.

City officials from the City of Huntington Beach were pleased with the outcome of the "eXtreme Beach Clean Up" and the positive impression it makes with the X Games athletes and visitors during the surfing competition.

Founded in 1984, the Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots, non-profit environmental organization that works to protect oceans, waves and beaches. Its national office is located in San Clemente, California and it has over 37,000 members in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Surfrider also has international chapters in Australia, Brazil, France, Japan and Spain. Those interested in learning more can visit Surfrider's home page online at www.surfrider.org.