Full stream ahead! In their quest for cleaner water, a more bountiful bay and united community, The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation recently presented a $20,000 grant to the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay in support of Project Clean Stream, the Alliance’s annual Chesapeake Bay watershed environmental stewardship initiative.
The Perdue Foundation’s generous donation will aid in the largest annual cleanup event in the Chesapeake Bay region. Launched in 2004, Project Clean Stream has since grown to host thousands of cleanup sites that span the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed, including six states and the D.C.
Every spring, through Project Clean Stream, The Alliance rallies thousands of volunteers; as well as hundreds of Perdue associates and their family members and friends, to clean up trash from local streams and rivers. The Project provides those who love the Bay with an amazing opportunity to give back and get involved. Together residents, local businesses, environmental organizations, local governments, community groups, houses of worship, schools and universities, unite and take action to restore the waters of the Bay.
Eager to effect change, Perdue launched its Project Clean Stream volunteer initiative in 2008 in Salisbury, Md., where 30 associates removed more than 2,000 pounds of debris from two locations in Wicomico County. Since then, Perdue has expanded the Project Clean Stream environmental stewardship concept across 12 states where it’s associates live and work. More than 6,855 volunteers have removed in excess of 211 tons of trash from more than 300 sites and planted more than 4,100 trees. Perdue’s association with the project positively reinforces their commitment to being a good corporate citizen.
“We are grateful for the decade of support that Perdue and its associates provide each year to Project Clean Stream.” said Kate Fritz, Executive Director of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. “It takes passionate local volunteers and committed community partners working together to protect and restore our streams and rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. We all live upstream and need to be the caretakers of our local home waters. Project Clean Stream provides a way to get involved and make a difference for healthier communities, clean streams and a clean Chesapeake Bay!”
What began as a small grass-roots effort, has since evolved into an amazing and engaging environmental event that continues to impact the bay community for the better.
Project Clean Stream events are scheduled through June. For more information about the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and to sign up to be a Project Clean Stream volunteer, visit: allianceforthebay.org