Volunteering has its own intangible rewards, but a $10,000 grant in recognition of your hard work is also a pretty nice attaboy.
That’s the award StreamTeam, Clark Public Utilities’ volunteer-driven Salmon Creek watershed restoration program, received last week for a Make A Difference Day event it held last October.
“I was definitely not expecting it,” said Ashley King, StreamTeam’s program coordinator. “It was a very pleasant surprise.”
The award was in recognition of the group’s work on national Make A Difference Day in late October. About 200 volunteers planted close to 850 native trees in the Salmon Creek watershed in northeast Battle Ground.
As part of the outreach campaign, King posted the event to the Make A Difference Day website. Three organizations behind the event — broadcasting company TEGNA, the Arby’s Foundation and volunteer service organizer Points of Light — took notice. Of the more than 800 Make A Difference Day events registered, the StreamTeam was one of 14 groups from around the nation, and one of two from Washington, awarded for its event.
Although she didn’t anticipate winning anything, King said she expected StreamTeam was in the running when a few months ago Make A Difference Day representatives called and asked questions.
The announcement came during the beginning of National Volunteer Week, which King thought was fitting.
StreamTeam has five full-time employees and six AmeriCorps volunteers as part of Clark’s environmental program. Every year, around 1,000 volunteers spend more than 3,500 hours volunteering at one of the organizations many events hosted throughout the year.
StreamTeam occasionally gets grants for stream restoration work, but those funds come with strict definitions about how they can be used. Like anyone who’s dreamed of a big payday, StreamTeam has thought about how they’d use a windfall — maybe buying supplies to get more school kids out in the field — but at this point, nothing is certain.
“This is a lot of money, especially for the outreach aspects for our program. …We’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to use it,” she said.
