November 2012: SoundWaters thanks its friends, supporters and partners

As SoundWaters and the region continue to dig out from Hurricane Sandy, we are especially fortunate to have such a wide range of friends and supporters. From the first day following the storm, our high school interns and volunteers, their families, visitors to Cove Island Park and Board members joined our staff and crew to help remove water-laden items and debris from the basement. As a team, we bleached, washed and dried the education and shipboard materials and equipment we could salvage, and tossed the rest into two large dumpsters. Our new normal means no more basement storage.

At the same time, the City of Stamford, in the midst of dealing with untold damage to its coastline and infrastructure, has been particularly responsive to our needs: helping us to gain access to Cove Island Park even though it was closed to the public; assessing storm damage to our basement and adjacent shed; and working in partnership as we both navigate the maze of insurance and FEMA requirements to repair the damage.

Equally important, we’re receiving daily letters, phone calls and emails from a host of concerned people connected to SoundWaters through schools, summer camp, corporate and community partnerships, or have sailed on the Schooner and visited the Center. We are particularly appreciative of the donations we’re receiving to assist in our recovery.

One special donation came from students at Stamford’s Waterside School, who organized a bake sale, Sweets for SoundWaters, and with additional support, raised $1,000! SoundWaters means a lot to them, said their teacher. “The kids just love SoundWaters so much they decided to do this on their own.”

We’ve always known we could not bring our top-notch science education to 24,000 students a year without our friends and supporters, who contribute in a variety of ways. As one example, throughout the year we work directly with our corporate and high school partners to develop meaningful volunteer opportunities. The projects they complete, from sprucing up the Center to horseshoe crab tagging, beach cleanups and maintenance at Cove Island Park, all add value to our programs.

And now, in the aftermath of the storm, SoundWaters feels a deeper connection to friends, supporters and partners. We thank you.