Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Water Research: YMCA and Tropicana recently awarded Campbell resident Mike Muldoon, 14, a $3,000 grant to test water contamination levels at Point Break Beach in Santa Cruz.




Muldoon designs top service plan

Castro eighth-grader received $3,000 grant from YMCA, Tropicana

By Amy Jenkins

Youth are often considered too young to contribute much to the community, but the YMCA recognized eight children nationwide Nov. 3 for community service proposals which prove that attitude wrong.

Mike Muldoon of Campbell was among the honorees in the "Tropicana Search for Everyday Heroes of the YMCA" program. His proposal, "Bay Watch," was among hundreds submitted for consideration by Tropicana and the YMCA, and he received $3,000 and YMCA support to turn his proposal into a project.

Muldoon's project will clean up Point Break Beach near the light house in Santa Cruz, with the help of the YMCA Earth Service Corps, YMCA members, family, friends and community members. The group will conduct monthly trash pick-ups and take water tests to determine the quality of the water, Muldoon said.

After he tests for the contamination levels in the water, he plans to have the results published in local newspapers and record a reflection piece on video where he will describe the impact the project had on him and the community.

An eighth grader at Castro Middle School, Muldoon, 14, came up with his idea while he and a friend from Virginia were surfing in Santa Cruz and they noticed black water pouring into the ocean through a storm drain, he said. "My friend told me the water was coming from somebody pouring out oil into a drain in the street," he said.

Muldoon got involved with the YMCA last summer when he was invited to go on a backpacking trip sponsored by the YMCA. On the trip he met his YMCA sponsor and Bay Watch project helper, Craig Berens.

A majority of the $3,000 grant will be used to pay for equipment involved in testing the water quality, Berens said. The money will also be used for lab tests and transportation to the beach to perform clean-ups and water testing.

Muldoon is also involved in the YMCA Teen Governing Board and the YMCA Earth Service Corps--a group that helps volunteer organizations perform community service projects. The group works in soup kitchens and has gone to Taiwan to teach people about environmental issues.

"The YMCA wants to promote the idea that young people can be everyday heroes and can go out into the community and help out," said Berens, 24, who has been involved with the YMCA since he was 7. "The Bay Watch project will last for 6 months but we hope it is never completed, in the sense that we hope to get funded so we can do more research like this in the future."

Tropicana honored each contest winner with a power breakfast in his or her hometown. Muldoon and an another Bay Area winner were recognized for their ideas at a breakfast held at the Central Branch YMCA in San Francisco.

Actor Danny Glover was the spokesman for the contest, and at the breakfast he presented Muldoon with an award and made a speech. While growing up in San Francisco, Glover coordinated youth reading centers, worked with community tutoring programs and participated in YMCA reading programs.

"The event had a large turnout--there were about 50 friends and family--and it was interesting and exciting to meet all the people that run the YMCA,"

Muldoon said. "It was a real honor to meet Danny Glover and hear him make a speech."

Although Muldoon participates in the Southwest YMCA in Saratoga, the breakfast was held at the Central Branch YMCA because there was more public space to accommodate friends to honor the two winners, said Davey Gerhard, Central Branch YMCA director of financial development.

"The YMCA has a long history of leadership and youth development and the spirit behind the project proposals is to look for kids to provide service that will impact their community," Gerhard said. "YMCA's mission is to build strong kids, families and community."

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