All Entries in the "Non-Profit Business" Category

Save The Bay launches volunteer citizen Water Reporter Program

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – April 18, 2018 – Save The Bay invites community members to become volunteer Water Reporters, helping Save The Bay fight pollution and other watershed issues around the state. “Save The Bay was founded on citizen action. Now, we’re asking people to once again partner with us as advocates and vigilant guardians of Narragansett Bay and all the waters that flow into it,” said Save The Bay Coastkeeper David Prescott.

The Water Reporter Program is a social network of community volunteers who use the Water Reporter App to share photographic observations of water and shoreline conditions with Save The Bay’s Waterkeepers. The volunteer-submitted pictures will help Save The Bay document issues and changes taking place around the Bay’s 1,853-square-mile watershed, which stretches from southern Rhode Island as far north as Brockton and Worcester, Massachusetts. Geo-location services embedded in each photo will help Save The Bay target its advocacy efforts, identify and map trends, and prioritize shorelines and beaches that need to be added to its beach cleanup program. A comment field gives volunteers a place to describe more about the photo and engage in conversation with Save The Bay staff and other Water Reporters. Hashtags will help catalogue reports so that Save The Bay can categorize and refer back to reports in its daily work.

Every month, Save The Bay will send its Water Reporters on a mission to scour Rhode Island’s beaches and shorelines, even those along inland rivers and ponds, on the hunt for specific types of debris, discharges, invasive vegetation, fish kills, or other items of concern. In addition, photos of people using the water to fish, paddle, or swim, or breathtaking scenery will breathe life into our dialogue with policymakers about the importance of protecting and improving the health of the Bay and all local waters. Save The Bay will use photos to watch activities throughout the watershed, share stories on social media, and present information in conversations with policymakers and others.

“Save The Bay supporters are intimately familiar with their favorite locations in and around Narragansett Bay, making them the absolute best source of information to identify concerns,” said Save The Bay Baykeeper Mike Jarbeau. The Water Reporter App has already helped document areas ripe for beach cleanups. It has also been invaluable for tracking plastic wastewater media discharged from East Providence after one of the winter storms in March. Water Reporters will play a key role in helping Save The Bay fight for a clean, healthy Narragansett Bay.

“Volunteers have been helping us with beach cleanups for years. Now, through the Water Reporter Program, they have another tremendously important way to help us improve water quality. They will become the backbone of our water monitoring effort, filling in gaps where our small staff needs extra help,” said Prescott.

To become a Water Reporter, volunteers can simply download the Water Reporter App for iOS and Android at: https://www.savebay.org/waterreporter, join Save The Bay’s group, and begin sharing reports and observations. Helpful tips on using the Water Reporter App can be found at: http://help.waterreporter.org. For anyone wanting more information or instruction on the Water Reporter App, Save The Bay will hold a Water Reporter Training on Wednesday, May 2, 5:30 – 7 p.m. Volunteers can sign up for Water Reporter training at: bit.ly/WaterReporterTraining.

Toastmasters – Saturday Brunch Bunch Meeting  

Toastmasters – Saturday Brunch Bunch Meeting

The Saturday Brunch Bunch Toastmasters club will hold its regular meeting Saturday, April 28,2018from 9:20amto 11:30am,at the Cumberland Public Library, Hayden Center,1464 Diamond Hill Road. Open to the public. Regular meetings are onthe2nd and 4thSaturday of each month. The Saturday Brunch Bunch is one of some 15,900 clubs in ToastmastersInternational, a nonprofit, educational organization devoted to the development of public speaking and leadership skills.

For more information call: 508.293.1488 ore-mail: sbbtm31@gmail.com.

Superheroes Unite! The AIDS Run/Walk for Life Takes Flight in Roger Williams Park This Saturday, April 21

Time for spring cleaning: Save The Bay to offer beach cleanup leader training for 2018

     PROVIDENCE, R.I. – April 17, 2018 – Beach cleanup season is around the corner, and Save The Bay is holding a cleanup leader training session for current and aspiring beach captains on Thursday, May 10, from 6 – 7:30 p.m., at 100 Save The Bay Drive in Providence. Those interested should contact July Lewis, Save The Bay’s volunteer and internship manager, at jlewis@savebay.org. “Becoming a beach cleanup leader is easy and fun for all, and one of the best things we can do to fight trash on our beaches,” Lewis said.

Ideal beach captains are enthusiastic and motivated individuals or small groups that can lead cleanups at both large and small shoreline locations. The opportunity is perfect for scout leaders, students with service projects, environmental or community organizations, corporate volunteer coordinators, or anyone who just wants a cleaner environment. Cleanup leadership is open to anyone aged 12 and up; leaders between the ages of 12 and 17 years will require an adult co-leader.

Last year, more than 3,000 volunteers joined Save The Bay for shoreline cleanups throughout the season. “We need great leaders to help us organize the many wonderful volunteers who want to do good for our environment. We can’t do the important work of removing marine debris from our beaches without them,” Lewis said.

For more information about cleanup locations and leader training, visit savebay.org/volunteer or contact July Lewis at jlewis@savebay.org.