―― 501(c)(3) Nonprofit · EIN 41-4167030
Where Your Money Goes
Every dollar you give puts an underserved young person in the water, in front of a camera, and on a path toward a career in the ocean industry.
Our commitment
The Ocean Should Be For Everyone
The ocean industry — marine science, underwater filmmaking, conservation, dive instruction, aquaculture, coastal engineering — is overwhelmingly inaccessible to youth from underserved communities. The equipment is expensive. The training is expensive. The connections don’t exist.
My Clean Ocean exists to change that. We fund real expeditions, real training, and real mentorship — not field trips. We put professional underwater cameras in young hands, connect youth with working ocean professionals, and build pathways to certifications and careers that most of these kids never knew were possible.
Your donation doesn’t fund overhead. It funds the moment a young person from an underserved community descends into a kelp forest for the first time and realizes the ocean belongs to them too.
Your donation at work
What Your Gift Funds
Every contribution level makes a direct, measurable difference in a young person’s life.
Snorkel gear, wetsuit rental & water safety orientation for one youth’s first ocean expedition.
A full day on the water for one youth — boat transport, equipment, a professional mentor, and their first underwater photography session.
One youth’s full Blue Lens program cycle — multiple expeditions, camera training, mentorship, and portfolio development.
Complete PADI dive certification, professional mentorship track & career guidance with ocean industry professionals.
How we do it
Six Programs. One Mission.
Ocean Expeditions
Real ocean access for youth who have never been in the water despite living minutes from the coast. Many have never seen a kelp forest. We change that.
Blue Lens — Underwater Cinematography
Youth learn to use professional underwater camera systems to document marine life. They build a real portfolio and discover that their perspective has value in the conservation world and beyond.
Citizen Science
Participants collect real water quality data and contribute to ongoing marine research. They are not observers — they are scientists. Their data matters and builds confidence that opens doors to university.
Mentorship & Career Guidance
Every participant connects with working ocean professionals — marine biologists, underwater filmmakers, dive instructors, conservation scientists. We show youth exactly what a career in this industry looks like.
Dive Certification Pathways
We fund PADI Open Water certifications for program graduates — the credential that opens careers in dive instruction, marine research, underwater filmmaking, and aquaculture.
Guardian of the Kelp
Kelp forest restoration training. Youth become certified stewards of the Southern California coastline with real conservation credentials that set them apart in college applications and job markets.
A Youth’s Journey With Us
First Expedition
First time in the ocean. First time seeing a kelp forest. Everything changes.
Camera Training
They learn to shoot underwater. Their images begin telling the ocean’s story.
Citizen Science
Real data. Real research contribution. They become scientists.
Mentorship
Ocean professionals show them what a career in this world actually looks like.
Certification
PADI certified. Portfolio built. Door open to a life in the ocean industry.
Ready to make an impact?
Put a Kid
in the Ocean
Your donation today funds an expedition, a certification, a mentor, a career — for a young person who never thought the ocean was for them.