Volunteers are the core of any nonprofit, but here at RHA, we consider them family. With over 2, 200 volunteers, one can say, it’s a big family!
My job is to ensure our volunteers have a positive experience in which they can see their impact on our mission. Volunteerism is more than a capacity making issue; it’s about connecting with the community in a way that allows both the nonprofit and the volunteer to prosper. This is the reason I love my work. Matching volunteers to meaningful opportunities in which they can make a real difference and seeing the impact on both the mission and the volunteer, makes me whole.
In 2019 volunteers assisted nearly the entire staff by helping with water quality, administration, events, stewardship, education and outreach. This level of support allows our staff to focus more deeply on the mission, and with the help of committees and trustees, Raritan Headwaters remains a leader in watershed management.
Bragging rights:
70 volunteers attended citizen scientist training to properly collect water quality data. This group is an extension of our Science Department which allows us to evaluate and track the health of this large watershed by monitoring 72 stream sites. It’s amazing the number of community members who are engaged, enthusiastic and ready to help us protect our waterways.
63 volunteers put in 255 hours of sweat equity to remove invasive plants from our meadows in support of native habitat and clean water. We couldn’t restore and care for this property without our valued corporate groups, students and stewardship volunteers. Watching someone learn how to identify an invasive plant and then cut it down makes me smile every time.
2 volunteers take time each week to lighten the load of our development team. They sort, file, fold, seal, organize, copy, enter data and always share a laugh. It takes a special dedication to commit to a weekly schedule, arriving to untangle a task all in the name of clean water.
There are literally thousands of other volunteers who are equally important to our mission to protect clean water in our rivers, streams and our homes. We are grateful for each one.
We couldn’t do it without you.
