Kayak for a Cause (KFAC) was created as a way to blend a love of kayaking with a commitment to helping good causes. For the past ten years, new and veteran kayakers have united in a 13-mile paddle across Long Island Sound to raise money for their favorite charities. Chosen because they demonstrate a strong connection to the community and deliver meaningful benefits to Connecticut, this year's beneficiaries are Save the Sound, Maritime Aquarium, Outward Bound, Builders Beyond Borders, and Canine Companions. 

Paddlers make their way from Crab Meadow Beach on Long Island to Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk.
(Click image to enlarge)

This year KFAC is adding a water cleanup to the paddle! Using mesh bags donated by REI, paddlers will collect trash on their journey across the Sound; sprucing things up, protecting marine life, and water quality as they make their way to Connecticut's shoreline.

MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE IN OUR WORK

Over the course of nine years, Kayak for a Cause has donated nearly $103,000 to Save the Sound. This funding enables us to do so much for the Sound, like fight raw sewage discharges and industrial projects like Broadwater, host community and school events that educate residents on the Long Island Sound ecosystem and the challenges it faces, and open miles of spawning habitat to fish. It also helps us run our very successful beach cleanup program–last year 2,771 Save the Sound volunteers picked up 21,518 pounds of trash from 63 miles of Connecticut coastline!

In short: Without Kayak for a Cause we'd be up a creek without a paddle...

WE COULD USE SOME VOLUNTEERS!

We are also doing a special Shea Island cleanup this year, so if you'd like to volunteer, we could use the extra hands. Volunteers are gathering by 7:30 a.m. at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk and will be ferried out to Shea Island, just off the coast, and brought back around noon, in time for the beach party. Please wear clothes that you don't mind getting wet or dirty. Drinking water and cleanup supplies will be provided. Please contact Kierran if you can help out!

Our staff attorney Charles Rothenberger is paddling on behalf of Save the Sound.

If you would like to contribute to Charles, click here.

THE DETAILS

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Paddlers launch from Crab Meadow in Northport, NY at around 9:30 a.m.

They begin arriving at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, CT at around 12:30 p.m.

A day-long party featuring a lobsterbake and a concert by Dickie Betts (formerly of the Allman Brothers Band!) and The Great Southern goes into the wee hours.

To donate, register, or find out more about KFAC, visit their website.

Here's the link to our Calendar post.