Driven by the urge to make a difference and do more for his community, senior Conrad Kolk established his non-profit, The Kevin M. Liston Organization for Environmental Conservation, KMLOEC. For him, this was an opportunity to unite with his friends toward improving the environment. In light of the fact Conrad attends a school located right on Biscayne Bay in Miami, he has been keenly aware of the importance of conservation and environmental management.
“I started my organization to make some sort of difference, no matter the scale. Even if it helps only one creature,” said founder Conrad Kolk.
The name itself is dedicated to his grandfather, Kevin M. Liston, for the valuable lessons Kolk learned from him throughout his life.
“My granfather instilled in me to always pursue to try. Do what you can; always make an effort regardless if you think you can make a difference or not,” he shared.
Conrad inspires all his members to pursue their dreams, go after what they want, and give it their all. These values are the foundation and main message of his non-profit organization. Lead by these valiant goals, he has been successful in creating a difference in the community.
The nonprofit’s mission is to “serve as advocates and champions of the environments around us”- kmloec.org. Executive Vice President Gabriella Lopez believes the mission has evolved as the project has grown. Nevertheless, they highlight environmentalists’ aspirations to combat the negative impacts of climate change and loss of habitat on the coastal beaches of South Florida. What evolves is how they pursue this movement.
“It first just started with cleaning public areas and beaches. Although, now we want to expand into creating more awareness. We are currently working on adding a section on our website showcasing environmentally-friendly products. I don’t think our mission was ever set, but the main gist of it was always to have people more involved in the environment and being able to integrate it into peoples’ lives more easily through engagement in different aspects,” said Executive VP Gabriella Lopez.
The broad mission carries a personal impact for most members, but has affected Lopez recently when she visited the house she was born in with her mother to reminisce on her childhood. When visiting, she noticed the park adjacent to her house was heavily polluted and the beach was abundant with litter. The sight reminded her of KMLOEC’s mission to improve areas such as these and has therefore led to an organized date in December for a beach clean up to restore this nostalgic scene. For her and the project, this illustrates the impact a simple beach clean up can have on the community and individuals.
The non-profit has 30 official members and gathers 15-20 volunteers for each beach clean up. So far, they have hosted four beach clean ups and are scheduled to host more in December. This creates an efficient and successful clean up, although to Conrad it is more than the number estimate of litter they collect.
“We always get a good amount of trash, but it always is about bringing people together and less about the exact numbers of trash we get. We form a community and always have a certain number of reoccurring members that join and help. That is what really is important when it comes to our members and attends these clean ups,” he said.
This sense of a united community continues when VP Gabriella Lopez shared that the non-profit is unique in the aspect it draws students from all walks of life and perspectives, meaning students with completely different aspirations are brought together to embrace in this good cause.
“Even people that don’t want to necessarily study or focus on the environment still come and make an effort to incorporate helping the environment in their schedule,” she said.
For those concerned with the logistics in managing a project such as this, there are multiple factors to consider when organizing such a project, although Conrad serves as a testimony that it is achievable when one is willing to place work and dedication toward their passion.
The organization is well structured and managed, holding six officer positions for other senior students from ILS, providing leadership roles and opportunities to create an impact on the greater community. Each role was hand selected by Conrad Kolk for students who have shown excellence in certain areas targeted to their skills and abilities. This has established an efficient executive board with the positions: Senior Vice President, Executive Vice President, Executive Secretary, Executive Director of Marketing, and Director of Member Operations.
Budgeting is another vital aspect to consider.
“We have never taken or expected donations from anyone. It has required my own money to build the organization; although, I try my best to be financially responsible and minimal on the spending. Our largest expense has been our website which costs $150.00 annually and t-shirts,” he said.
Besides these costs, the project has been an easy finance to maintain and has raised no issues for the managers. Conrad also believes by his ability to keeping it self sufficient and non-reliant on donations by members, with no expectations from the students except their time, he has been able to attract more members to his project.
When Conrad and the rest of the board graduates, what will happen to the organization? Will the non-profit continue its mission? Who will take over?
Junior Lucia Fuentes is the prospective president for next year’s board and will continue to lead the organization in pursuing its mission and aiding the environment. She believes she is suitable for the large role and can fulfill the high expectations accompanied with it. She personally plans to bring improvements to KMLOEC and expand its work.
“I think I can bring more people to KMLOEC, like coders to help add to the website and also just expand the project in general. Possibly move from just cleaning Key Biscayne to also Miami Beach,” junior Lucia Fuentes said.
If you want to learn more about the non-profit and offer your support visit www.kmloec.org and follow their Instagram page @kmloec_org.
