Love Blue Partners with Rutgers Hack4Impact to Revolutionize the Cleanup Experience

Love Blue Inc. is proud to announce a new partnership with Rutgers Hack4Impact for the 2026–2027 academic year.

As Love Blue continues to grow from a local beach cleanup initiative into a national network of students, volunteers, community members, and partner organizations, we are constantly asking ourselves one question:

How can we make it easier for people to get involved, make an impact, and see the difference we're creating together?

This year, we're taking a major step toward answering that question.

Building the Future of Environmental Service

Hack4Impact is a largely student-run 501(c)(3) organization that builds free software for nonprofits and other socially responsible organizations. With chapters across the country and partnerships with more than 50 nonprofits, Hack4Impact works to provide organizations with technology that helps them better achieve their missions.

The Rutgers University–New Brunswick chapter is bringing a team of approximately 25 students together for the 2026–2027 academic year to work alongside Love Blue throughout a two-semester development process.

Their goal is simple: build technology that creates meaningful impact.

For Love Blue, this partnership represents an opportunity to rethink how we organize, document, and connect our growing network.

From Google Forms to Something Built for Love Blue

For years, much of Love Blue's cleanup and volunteer information has been collected through individual Google Forms, spreadsheets, documents, and other systems. As a small organization that has grown significantly over the years, those systems have helped us get to where we are today, but our growth has made it clear that we need something built specifically for the way Love Blue operates.

Our new partnership with Rutgers Hack4Impact will allow us to begin building that next generation of infrastructure.

The goal isn't simply to create another app.

We want to revolutionize the cleanup experience.

We're working toward a centralized platform that can help connect our members and chapters, make participation easier to track, bring our impact into one place, and give our growing network better access to the information and resources they need.

Most importantly, the technology will be designed around the people who make Love Blue possible: our volunteers, chapter leaders, students, community members, and partners.

Technology With a Purpose

One of the most exciting parts of this partnership is that the people building the technology are students themselves.

The Rutgers Hack4Impact team will spend the academic year learning about Love Blue's operations, understanding the needs of our chapters and members, and developing a product specifically around those needs.

That means this isn't simply a technology project.

It's a collaboration between two student-driven organizations working toward a shared goal: using innovation to make it easier for people to create positive change in their communities.

As Love Blue continues to expand, having the right technology behind our movement will allow us to spend less time managing disconnected systems and more time doing what we do best, getting people outside, building leaders, strengthening communities, and protecting the places we love.

What's Next?

Development will take place throughout the Fall 2026–Spring 2027 academic year, with the Rutgers Hack4Impact team working closely with Love Blue along the way.

We're excited to share pieces of the journey as the project develops, but we'll be keeping some of the details under wraps for now.

Let's just say..we're building something we believe can change the way Love Blue cleans up, connects, and grows.

We are incredibly grateful to the Rutgers Hack4Impact team for choosing to partner with Love Blue and for investing their time, talent, and creativity into our mission.

The next chapter of Love Blue is being built right now.

And we're just getting started.

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About Rutgers Hack4Impact

Rutgers Hack4Impact is a student-led chapter of Hack4Impact, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds free software for nonprofits and socially responsible organizations. The organization partners with nonprofits to develop technology that helps them more effectively pursue their missions.

About Love Blue Inc.

Love Blue Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that mobilizes communities to protect oceans and waterways through hands-on action, leadership development, and education. What began as a local beach cleanup effort has grown into a network of chapters, students, volunteers, and community partners working to create cleaner communities and develop the next generation of environmental stewards.

Summer 2026 Recap: The Wildwoods Blueprint for Community Impact

There is something different happening on the beaches of the Wildwoods. It is not just the amount of trash being removed. It is the way people are beginning to look at the beach differently.

This summer, Love Blue Inc. completed its largest summer cleanup season yet in Wildwood Crest, hosting 14 cleanups between June and September. Across those cleanups, 203 volunteers contributed 406 hours of community service and helped remove 676 pounds of trash from the beach. But the numbers only tell part of the story.

The most meaningful change this summer was watching environmental responsibility become something the community participated in, not simply something Love Blue asked people to do.

A Cleaner Beach Starts With a Community

Throughout the summer, we began noticing something that is difficult to measure on a spreadsheet. Beachgoers were picking up their own trash.

People were bringing bags with them onto the beach so they could collect their own waste, along with pieces of litter they found around them. Families would stop to talk with our volunteers. People sitting in their beach chairs would see a cleanup taking place, get up, and join us. Children watched our volunteers work and joined in themselves.

These moments may seem small, but they represent exactly the kind of environmental culture we hope to build.

A cleanup should not have to mean that an organization arrives once a week to take responsibility for an entire beach. The goal is to create a community where everyone begins to feel some responsibility for the place they enjoy.

This summer, we saw more evidence that this mindset is taking root.

The Difference Is Becoming Visible

One of the most rewarding parts of returning to the same beaches week after week is being able to see change over time. Our volunteers have spent years working in the Wildwoods, and the difference in beach cleanliness compared with previous seasons has become increasingly noticeable.

Our cleanup stations have also become part of the routine. Rather than simply being pieces of infrastructure placed on the beach, they are being used regularly by beachgoers throughout the season. People have learned what they are for, how to use them, and how they can contribute without waiting for a scheduled Love Blue cleanup.

That is the kind of impact that lasts beyond a single cleanup event.

The ultimate measure of a cleanup organization is not how much trash it can pick up itself. It is whether fewer people feel comfortable leaving trash behind in the first place.

More Than Beach Cleanups: Investing in People

Another major part of the Wildwood summer was our intern program.

Over the course of the 6–8 week summer season, our interns were not simply helping pick up trash. They were learning what it takes to operate a community organization in the real world.

They experienced leadership, communication, time management, public speaking, hospitality, event coordination, teamwork, and problem-solving.

They learned how to interact with volunteers and members of the public. They learned how to represent an organization at community events. They learned that sometimes leadership means standing in front of a group and speaking confidently, and sometimes it means quietly making sure everyone has gloves, bags, water, and a job to do.

Most importantly, they were given an opportunity to lead.

That is an important part of Love Blue's mission.

We do not simply want young people to participate in environmental work. We want them to leave the experience with skills, confidence, and a greater understanding of what it means to take responsibility for something bigger than themselves.

The Wildwoods Became a Classroom

The summer also provided opportunities to bring Love Blue into the broader Wildwoods community. Our team participated in community events including the Wildwood Crest Summer Expo, connected with local businesses through the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce, and continued building relationships with organizations and businesses throughout the area.

Those relationships matter because environmental progress does not happen in isolation. It takes municipalities, businesses, residents, visitors, volunteers, students, families, and nonprofit organizations working in the same direction.

This summer, that network continued to grow.

Local support helped provide financial contributions, in-kind resources, volunteer support, supplies, and opportunities for future programming. Partnerships with organizations including Sun Bum and numerous local businesses helped expand what Love Blue could provide to volunteers and the community.

The Impact Reached Beyond Wildwood Crest

While Wildwood Crest remained the center of Love Blue's summer operations, the impact did not stop at the Crest.

The Wildwood Chapter, led by Danya, hosted five additional beach cleanups during the summer. Those cleanups removed 330 pounds of trash, engaged 40 volunteers, and generated 80 volunteer service hours, representing more than $3,000 in estimated community service value using the State of New Jersey's volunteer service valuation.

At the same time, Love Blue continued developing its broader chapter network, supporting existing student leaders while helping new chapters prepare for the upcoming academic year. Old Dominion University officially approved a new Love Blue chapter during the summer, while CCU and Flagler leaders began preparing for the 2026–2027 school year.

The Wildwoods may be where our summer story was most visible, but the larger goal is to take what we learn here and carry it into communities across the country.

A Summer Made Possible by Our Community

A summer like this does not happen because of one organization. It happens because a community decides to invest in the work.

Love Blue would like to extend a sincere thank you to every business, organization, municipality, and community partner that supported our 2026 summer season. Whether through financial contributions, in-kind donations, supplies, food, equipment, volunteer support, or simply opening the door to a new partnership, each of these organizations helped make this summer possible.

Thank you to:

Borough of Wildwood Crest • OceanFirst Bank • Sun Bum • GPS Plumbing Inc. • Garbo Grabbers • Majestic Oil Company • Elks Lodge #1896 • Douglass Candies • Popeyes • Wendy's • Taco Bell • Morey's Piers • Cape May Ferry • FASTSIGNS • Promo Direct • Y-pers Inc. • Casino Pier & Breakwater Beach • Philadelphia Eagles • PrimoHoagies • Chick-fil-A • Shoreline Waste Solutions

We are grateful to every organization that contributed to making our summer operations stronger, our volunteers better supported, and our community impact greater.

Giving Back to the People Who Showed Up

This summer, we also wanted to recognize the volunteers who continued to show up week after week.

In July, Love Blue launched our Volunteer Loyalty Program, giving returning volunteers the opportunity to earn incentives throughout the month. Each week, volunteers could walk away with something different, from food and gift cards to coupons, giveaways, Love Blue merchandise, and other prizes. The idea was simple: doing something good should feel good, but the people who repeatedly give their time to their community deserve to feel appreciated, too.

Our volunteers weren't just walking away with the satisfaction of knowing they made a difference. They were walking away with something tangible that said thank you for coming back.

That program was made possible because of the generosity of the businesses and partners who helped provide the incentives and resources behind it.

Ultimately, the success of this summer was shared.

Our volunteers showed up. Our interns stepped up. Our community engaged. Our partners invested. And together, we made Summer 2026 our most impactful summer yet.

Behind the Summer

There was also a tremendous amount of work happening behind the scenes.

From June 8 through September 15, Love Blue's CEO, AJ Caruso, simultaneously maintained a full-time 9 AM–6 PM, five-day-per-week employment schedule while continuing to oversee Love Blue's summer operations.

During those months, Love Blue's work included 14 Wildwood Crest cleanups, five additional Wildwood Chapter cleanups, intern supervision, volunteer management, chapter development, fundraising, partnership development, community events, organizational administration, and the initial development of a future technology platform. The majority of that work took place outside of normal employment hours, during evenings, weekends, and personal time.

That schedule is worth mentioning not as a measure of one person's accomplishments, but because it reflects something larger about Love Blue at this stage of its development.

The organization is growing. Growth requires people willing to build, organize, lead, delegate, learn, and keep showing up.

This summer also marked an important step in that transition, with Gianni Magazzu being promoted to Chief Operating Officer and taking on additional legal, compliance, fundraising, and operational responsibilities.

The goal is not for one person to do everything. The goal is to build something that many people can carry forward.

What Comes Next

As summer comes to an end, the beach cleanups may slow down, but the work does not. The lessons from this summer will continue into the fall: the students who learned to lead, the volunteers who discovered a new connection to their community, the families who began picking up trash on their own, the businesses that chose to support local environmental work, and the children who watched adults lead by example.

Those are the pieces of impact that cannot always be measured in pounds.

This summer, we removed 676 pounds of trash from Wildwood Crest.

But we hope we accomplished something much bigger than that.

We hope we helped create a community that sees a piece of litter on the beach and feels responsible for picking it up. A community that understands that protecting the ocean is not someone else's job.

A community that leads by example.

And a community that knows that when enough people take responsibility for the place they call home, or the place they come to enjoy, the entire community changes.

Thank you to every volunteer, intern, beachgoer, child, family, business, community partner, and Wildwoods resident who helped make this summer what it was.

The beach belongs to all of us.

And this summer, the Wildwoods showed what can happen when a community starts treating it that way.

Eastern High School Love Blue Club Kickoff: A Hands-On Earth Month Experience

This Earth Month, on April 15th, students from Eastern High School took their learning beyond the classroom and onto the beaches of Wildwood Crest for an immersive kickoff of their Love Blue Club. Over 40 students, representing multiple grade levels, alongside several science teachers, spent the day experiencing firsthand what it means to protect our oceans at the source.

Waiting on the sand was AJ Caruso, CEO & Founder of Love Blue Inc. and an Eastern High School alumnus, who had already set the tone for the day. A fully equipped service station stood ready, complete with a tent, tables, grabber tools, trash pickers, gloves, safety vests, and bags, demonstrating the level of organization and intention behind every Love Blue cleanup.

AJ opened the day with a powerful talk, walking students through the evolution of Love Blue, from its grassroots beginnings to a growing movement creating measurable environmental impact. He introduced the “Crest Model,” highlighting the organization’s partnership with the Borough of Wildwood Crest. Through coordinated cleanups, community events, sustainability initiatives, public cleanup stations, and ongoing data tracking, this model has proven effective in increasing community engagement while actively reducing pollution along local beaches.

From there, the group headed toward the shoreline at low tide, where the learning became even more dynamic. Drawing on over a decade of experience as an ocean lifeguard, AJ explained coastal mechanics in real time, how tides shift, how sandbars form, and how rip currents develop. As the group walked nearly half a mile along the waterline, students encountered horseshoe crabs and whelk egg casings. What could have easily been overlooked became moments of fascination, as AJ broke down the ecological importance of each species, connecting students directly to the life systems they were working to protect.

The group then transitioned into the dunes, where the focus shifted to one of the most critical and often overlooked aspects of coastal conservation. Students were instructed to tread carefully, avoiding plant life and hidden habitats. Here, AJ explained how storm-driven debris becomes trapped in the dunes, gradually breaking down into microplastics, one of the most dangerous forms of pollution. These particles infiltrate the soil, damage plant ecosystems, harm wildlife, and inevitably find their way back into the ocean. The message was clear: dune cleaning is not optional, it’s essential.

As students began their cleanup, the impact became tangible. What started as a lesson quickly turned into action, with participants uncovering and removing debris embedded deep within these fragile environments. By the end of the effort, the group had collected over 80 pounds of trash.

Back at the base, the day continued with a debrief that tied everything together. Students were introduced to a guiding principle: act local, think global. The idea that individual actions, no matter how small, can compound into meaningful, collective impact resonated strongly after a day of hands-on work. The group then sorted recyclables from waste, ensuring proper disposal for public works pickup.

Hydration was provided by Open Water, whose partnership with Love Blue continues to support cleanups across the region. The students’ reaction said it all, they loved it, and the organization remains deeply grateful for the support.

To close out the day, the group headed to Sam's Pizza Palace, where volunteers were treated to a well-earned meal. It was there that AJ showcased the “Cigarette Inside” surfboard, an innovative piece created from collected cigarette waste, driving home the broader message of turning pollution into awareness and action.

The day was more than a cleanup, it was an experience. Students didn’t just learn about ocean conservation; they lived it. They left not only with a deeper understanding of environmental challenges, but with a sense of responsibility and empowerment.

These students stepped into the role of Guardians of the Ocean, taking action where it matters most: at the source, within coastal communities.

A huge thank you to all the students, teachers, and coordinators who made this day possible. Love Blue looks forward to expanding this program, bringing more schools into the movement, and continuing to inspire the next generation of ocean advocates.