YouTube Influencer MrBeast Pulls Off Massive Ocean Cleanup Campaign

Thought Question: What changes can you make in your daily life to help protect the environment?

MrBeast just announced that his #TeamSeas campaign has pulled 34 million pounds of trash from the world’s oceans. He's the world’s biggest YouTube influencer. It shows the power of the internet, money, and the combined work of tens of thousands of volunteers. 

It’s taken three years to pull it off.

“#TeamSeas was one of the craziest things I’ve ever attempted," said project co-founder MrBeast in a statement. His real name is Jimmy Donaldson. "It’s awesome that the YouTube community came together to make it happen." He added, “If everyone keeps up the momentum, we can make a huge difference.” 

MrBeast helped launch #TeamSeas in 2021. He teamed up with science YouTube influencer Mark Rober and the nonprofit group Ocean Conservancy. Their message spread over 40,000 channels on social media platforms. The effort raised $30 million in two months. #TeamSeas videos got 13 billion views and received donations from 400,000 individual sources.  

Then 172,000 volunteers from 73 countries went to work. They came from every continent except Antarctica. They were led by Ocean Conservancy. The NGO performed cleanups at nearly 2,000 beaches and underwater sites across the globe.  

“I’ve always been driven by finding solutions to tough problems," Rober said in a statement. "Plastic pollution is a massive one." 

This isn’t the only selfless project launched by MrBeast. He's also given away 100 homes that he had built. He gave them to families who’d suffered disasters in Central and South America.