Class of 2002 Project:

Mutt Mitts

One day I was walking on the strand and enjoying the beautiful aftermath of a rare rainstorm when all of the sudden a colorful rainbow appeared over the ocean. I looked up to view this natural wonder and my heart filled with joy and awe… Splat! I slipped on the leavings of what must have been a good-sized dog. The moment was spoiled. I wished someone would do something about this “dog poop” problem. I thought, “Hey, that’s a good idea for a class project!”

I had done quite a bit of research on things along the lines of the “Mutt Mitt” dispensers. Unfortunately, the first time I mentioned the Mutt Mitt project, I got a rather cool response from most of the class. Many class members didn’t want to be known as the “dog poop class.” I realized that they didn’t understand the ecological benefits that our city could reap from such a humble product. Then, with some encouragement from fellow class member, Mary Shulte, who liked the idea, I decided I needed to make up some kind of persuasive presentation. So, I organized my research materials and created a proposal package. At the next class meeting, I made sure everyone got a copy of the proposal package and I went through it page-by-page with the class. That was all it took and the class adopted the project almost unanimously.

After that, when the class was choosing the project leader, nobody stepped forward, so Mary nominated me and I agreed to do it if she would agree to be the co-leader. She accepted and off we went to set up teams and get the project rolling. With the support of the other class members, we installed Mutt Mitt Dispensers on Veterans Parkway, at 8th and Rowell, and 5 dispensers on The Strand. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to be the co-leader of this project and thank everyone who helped us make this project a success.

—Patrick Donahue, Co-Leader, Mutt Mitts Project

Class Members:
Mira Costa High School Juniors:
Carey Algaze, Shaan Chaturvedi, Beverly Chen, Brett Memsic, Sherif Shoucri

Adults:
Maria Caponi, Rita Davis, Patrick Donahue, Todd Eichner, Patricia Galante, Karen Hill, Carol Jacobson, Steve Leichty, Tracy Lewis, Richard Montgomery, Albert Roth, Mary Schulte, Ashley Sonnen, Albert Wise, Aven Yam

Employers Represented:
Chevron, City of Manhattan Beach, Del Aire Assembly of God, Evaluation Technologies LLC, Keane Inc., Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Mary Kay Cosmetics, The Photo Lab & Digital Imaging, RLD Associates, Towers Elementary School, TRW.