Quote:
Originally Posted by troubleshooter
The time to act is not after your beaches turn black, but while they are still white.
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Good point.
About 4 years ago, a few St. Pete kiters began looking into a membership-type org. for kiting, and then discovered the unlimited potential and benefits of a broader mission, which happens to include "environmental action" to support beach cleanups, launch site improvements, and increased access for kiting.
In short, this effort resulted in a multi-sport, multi-purpose public charity, that's structured to support local kiting associations to help address some of the problem areas of our sport (mainly safety, access, events, and public perception), as well as to keep it rolling thru the non-windy months with our other sports.
Our connection to kiting will be through our soon-to-be kiteboarding division, Kite4Life, which is yet to be laid out by its future members.
While it may seem overly complicated to some, its a suitable framework, will allow kiters to build a true "By Kiters, For Kiters" org, and (best of all!) leaves no room for bitching or moaning about anything, even for
well experienced hecklers like myself...
Back to the oily mess:
If we were already "on the same page" and working together, we'd able to secure and distribute funding to help clean up launch sites wherever its needed.
While I do not claim to know a thing about cleaning up oil, I do know that NOAA awards grants up to 250,000 per year, plus thousands of other federal, state, and local grants available for the environment. Charlie Crist is already holding onto 25 mil of the BP Cleanup Fund specific to this cleanup.
Showing a positive impact over a wide geographical area is paramount to obtain most of these (and other types of) grants, hence the need for kiters to establish a network of local associations.
The majority of the framework is almost ready to rock, but it still boils down to all of us working together to make it click.
Stop by tonight if you're in the area or check back soon for updates.
Our Facebook Cause page:
http://www.causes.com/causes/402934/about?m=9f7d514c
Steve (813) 389-3683