Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Yusuf and the US Navy volunteer crew!
This Memorial Day, Potomac Conservancy would like to give a special thanks to the servicemen and women who have worked with us as volunteers. We love working with military groups and are truly honored to have you join the fight for clean water. Thank you for your service to our country and to our local communities!
Yusuf recently organized a group day of service for his Naval Command, the Naval Communication Security Material System based out of Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Yusuf and his colleagues joined us for an early Saturday morning river cleanup at Fletcher's Cove in Washington, DC.
The cleanup was part of a larger, regional cleanup coordinated by our friends at the Alice Ferguson Foundation. More than 13,000 volunteers from across the region removed 447,000 pounds of trash from the Potomac's shorelines. That's the equivalent weight of 31 African elephants!
To find other hands-on opportunities to make a difference for clean water in your local community check out our Events Calendar!
Read what Yusuf has to say about his day of volunteer service along the Potomac:
Q. How did you hear about today’s event?
I have always been involved in the community wherever I go. I’m in the military, in the Navy, so you know, you look online. You find different places, different organizations that support the community. I looked online and found Potomac Conservancy.
Q. Why do you think it’s important to keep the Potomac clean?
You have wildlife, nature. You have pollution everywhere. If you don’t have us as people and as a community doing something to make it better, to fix trash, pollution and whatever’s going on, it only builds up. And if it builds up, guess what, we’re gonna have a purple river.
Q. Why is your service important for our society and local communities?
It’s important because someone has to do it. If you don’t have us volunteering to clean the community, who’s going to do it?
Q. If you could ask everyone to do one thing for the Potomac, what would it be?
If you have trash after you have your campsite, make sure you pick up the trash you leave behind. We found a gas tank with gas in it. Take that, make sure you don’t leave it behind. And any plastic that you have, especially plastic. They throw it in the river, or leave it to the side. Plastic takes years, centuries to degrade, so just make sure you pick up your trash and take it with you to have a good time over here by the river.
Get Your Hands Dirty For Clean Water
Potomac Conservancy would love to see you out on the shores of the Potomac. Find an upcoming opportunity to get outside for a cleanup by visiting our calendar of Upcoming Events >