Daughter Remembers Dad On Why #OceanLoveEarl

Beth Kanter (@kanter), a social media and marketing expert, recently created #OceanLoveEarl in lieu of the traditional paddle out ceremony practiced by surfers when one of their own passes away. The ceremony is done with surfers wearing loose leis or flowers around their necks then paddling out to a good location out at sea. The surfers proceed to form a circle while holding hands. They pray and then finally toss the flowers from around their necks into the circle?s center. What Kanter has made is now referred to as a virtual paddle out ceremony to memorialize her father, Earl. Kanter shared on July 3, 2013 that she wished to have an online paddle out ceremony with individuals who loved and knew her father. The hashtag would contain messages and posts from people who love surfing and the ocean and remember her father fondly. According to Kanter, her father loved the ocean so much and was a lifeguard for three decades in New Jersey. The official launch of #OceanLoveEarl was on July 3 and will also serve as a fundraiser to support Surfrider Foundation, an ocean conservation group. A lot of people have started sharing their experiences and adoration of the beautiful ocean. Others shared photos of surfers as well as pictures of magnificent oceans around the world. More are encouraged to share their ocean story together with the hashtag. Kanter herself shared a tribute blog. To date, the hashtag has generated over 450 tweets and made a whopping 40.7 million impressions. Beth Kanter is co-author of ?The Networked Nonprofit and Measuring the Networked Nonprofit?. The book has been recognized as one of the best nonprofit sellers on Amazon.