Volunteer with Lake Erie Waterkeeper!

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We rely heavily on the dedication of our many volunteers. Volunteers founded Lake Erie WATERKEEPER in 2004, and have been increasingly crucial to our advocacy and education campaigns ever since. Please see the list below and let us know which project(s) you would like to lend a hand. We can also look into customizing a project that best fits your interests and skills.

WATERKEEPER "ACTION ALERT" RESPONSE TEAM
Volunteers will pledge to follow up quickly on all "Action Alert" emails sent by Lake Erie WATERKEEPER to the email list. Examples include signing petitions or calling public officials about an upcoming decision that affects water quality.

RIVER CLEAN-UPS
Volunteers will attend pre-scheduled cleanups advertised by Lake Erie WATERRKEEPER and/or set up their own cleanup(s). If setting up your own cleanup, size can vary as much as needed, from a 1-person litter-pickup to a large cleanup involving an entire group. Lake Erie WATERKEEPER can help provide guidelines for location selection, recycling/disposal of collected litter, and safety precautions.

EVENT PUBLICITY TEAM
Volunteers will help us advertise fundraisers and educational events, and also get our name, logo, and contact information more visible in the community. Event publicity may also be done via internet.

INTERNET OUTREACH: FACEBOOK
Lake Erie WATERKEEPER is new to Facebook and can use help with MySpace for education & outreach, and has won several MySpace outreach and fundraising awards. We would like to establish education and outreach opportunities through " Facebook fans" and " Facebook causes" pages. Contact us to helps.

LAKE AND RIVER TRIBUTARIES RESEARCH AND OUTREACH
Volunteers will help identify and catalogue Lake Erie and Lake Erie tributary rivers amenities such as marinas, restaurants, camp grounds, boat ramps, etc. so that Lake Erie WATERKEEPER will be able to post information on its website as a service to its stakeholders and use the information for outreach. Research will include computer and phone book research as well as research in the field to identify the amenities and to distribute outreach materials at these locations.

POLLUTION PERMIT RESEARCH
Volunteers will identify zip codes within the Lake Erie and its river tributary watersheds and use them to run searches for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits - permitted discharges of pollution allowed by the Clean Water Act. Searches will be run on several easy-to-use Environmental Protection Agency websites. This research helps us identify current/potential polluters. This project may also include data entry to help us organize information about current/potential polluters.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS OF NEWSPAPERS
Volunteers will choose one or more newspaper(s), whether scholastic, small town, or big city, and scan them daily for articles relevant to Lake Erie and its river tributaries. (For example, articles about pollution, wildlife habitat, recreation, etc). After finding a relevant article, volunteers will write a personal letter about that article, in support of a cleaner, healthier Lake Erie and Lake Erie rivers watershed. For some talking points and background information about a variety of Lake Erie and its river watershed issues, we suggest you review relevant sections of our website, www.lakeeriewaterkeeper.org. Volunteers will send their letter to the newspaper’s editor for possible publication, following the length and submission directions relayed in each newspaper (or newspaper website). Please address the letter on behalf of yourself as a concerned citizen, not on behalf of Lake Erie WATERKEEPER.

RESEARCHING RELEVANT EVENTS & TABLING AT THEM
Volunteers will peruse the " Calendar" section of Lake Erie WATERKEEPER’s website to see if there are events listed at which they could help represent us. Volunteers will also research similar events not listed on our website. After asking us if a given event would be good for representing us, volunteers will get materials to display/distribute there at the Lake Erie WATERKEEPER’s table/booth.

NEW MEMBER RECRUITING
Via facebook outreach (see above) and by circulating our brochures at strategic locations.

To sign up for a project, create one, or to simply donate much-needed funds to the organization, please email or call Sandy, Laura, or Jessica at 800-551-1592 or email sandy@lakeriewaterkeeper.org, laurar@lakeeriewaterkeeper.org or Jessica@lakeeriewaterkeeper.org

To find out more, please feel free to visit their website, www.lakeeriewaterkeeper.org.
Or you may contact Sandy, Laura, or Jessica at 800-551-1592 or sandy@lakeeriewaterkeeper.org, laurar@lakeeriewaterkeeper.org or Jessica@lakeeriewaterkeeper.org.
Thank you for your interest in supporting a great organization!