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Missouri River Relief is launching its most ambitious cleanup project yet as the organization celebrates its 25th anniversary with a massive "clean sweep" of the Missouri River.
The organization's December donation drive has an ambitious goal of $100,000 to fund major conservation efforts planned throughout the next year, including the anniversary cleanup project.
Individual donations make up nearly a third of the organization's operating revenue and help cover essential overhead costs like staff, equipment and administrative expenses that keep programs running.
The two-month cleanup will begin at Labenite Park in Sugar Creek, Missouri, and aims to remove 30 tons of trash from the river.
The project represents the organization's biggest cleanup effort since its founding and will engage more than 300 volunteers over 51 days on the water.
"What started out as a couple of people around a picnic table in 2001 has grown into this huge logistical organization, engaging hundreds and hundreds of volunteers every year, removing tons of trash and engaging thousands of students," said Kevin Tosie, operations director of Missouri River Relief.
The organization has spent more than two decades pulling debris from the Missouri River, including tires, scrap metal and old appliances. Volunteers have hauled out tons of waste during regular cleanup events.
“We're kind of in the planning stages right now, but the idea is that we're going to slowly move downstream, and we're going to have dumpsters at each of those ramps along the way," Tosie said. "We did do a cleanup like this in 2021, and we took meticulous notes of places that we've cleaned, but also places that we did not have time to do. So we have a lot of really good data that is going to show us those spots that we need to target.”
The organization is still finalizing exact dates and locations for the anniversary cleanup. Missouri River Relief also organizes the annual MR340 race and conducts educational programs with students throughout the year.
End-of-year donations will help fund the cleanup project, supporting boats, equipment and volunteer supplies needed for the two-month effort.
You can donate or find out more about volunteering or participating by clicking this link.
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