This year, on GivingTuesday, we raised $2,675. All of this money goes to supporting the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center and our work to encourage, educate, and engage Chesapeake Bay stewards of all ages.
Thanks to our donors, this also means that we’ll be picking up 2,675 pieces of trash around Talbot County, Maryland. On GivingTuesday, we went out and picked up 600 pieces of trash around Easton, including a large number of plastic bottles, plastic wrappers, and cigarette butts (which are also made of a type of plastic known as cellulose acetate).
Check out the video below to see our trash clean up, which took place around Easton Point Park, Easton Point Marina, and the George Murphy Community Pool at Moton Park.
While we didn’t hit our goal of $5,000, we still call this fundraiser a success. This is the first time we’ve run a full fledged fundraising campaign under our new leadership and since reopening here in Easton. It was also the first time for the Midshore Gives program through the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, which means it was also our first time participating. While we did not have many donors utilize this method, the donations that were made through this platform resulted in an additional $300 in donations through prizes.
Ultimately, the money raised this time of year is particularly important as we head into the winter off-season when the number of paid programs we run is significantly reduced. Even though most of our programs don’t run during winter months, we still have staff payroll to cover, animals to feed, and bills to pay. It’s not glamorous, but that is the reality of a nonprofit, especially one that works within the realm of environmental education.
Winter is also a time for us to apply for grants and do some strategic planning for the next year. We have big plans for the years ahead and we look forward to finding the funding to make those plans a reality.
And while GivingTuesday is over, our fundraising efforts are not. If you would like to give, we are happy to extend our trash clean up efforts to donations made through the link below.
As always, thank you to each and every one of you and a supersized thank you to all our donors!