| Middle River Cleanup Season is Nearly Here! | | It's almost time for our annual Middle River Cleanups! Like last year, we hope to cover multiple stretches of river over the course of a couple of weeks at the end of August and beginning of September. But this year, we need your help -- we are in need of leaders to manage our volunteer crews. Have you volunteered with FOMR on a Cleanup Crew in the past and want to lead a trip this year? | | | | Our next FOMR Float Trip will be this Saturday, August 9th! Join us for a fun evening float. We will get started around 4:00 PM and should be off the river and heading home around 8:30 PM. If the group is smaller, we might even finish earlier!
| | You're Invited: FriendsFest 2025 | | Location: 111 Mill Race Rd, Verona, VA Rain Location: American Legion, 357 Cedar Green Rd, Staunton, VA 24401 Bring: A side dish, drinks, plates, cups and utensils. Plus a chair or blanket. For those of you who may be new to FriendsFest, it is our annual celebration of the Middle River and you, the Friends of the Middle River! During the picnic, we will draw the winning raffle tickets. Two lucky folks will leave with a grand prize of either a new kayak or stand-up inflatable paddle board. There will also be many more raffle prizes drawn for those in attendance. You will have an opportunity to hear about our stewardship efforts from the past year and any new activities in the pipeline – new volunteer opportunities with FOMR are always available. Additional Info: Please bring your own plates, cups, and utensils. FOMR will provide BBQ, buns, and sauces. This is a potluck picnic, so please bring a side dish to share. We will have sister organizations in attendance that will also provide additional local conservation information you may find useful. P.S. There's still plenty of time to enter our 2025 raffle -- be sure to get your tickets (if you haven't already) at this link here. | | Get to Know Our Volunteers: Bob & Mary Clare Vogt! | | | Bob & Mary Clare at Shenandoah Valley Campground for the 2025 River Roundup event.
Bob & Mary Clare Vogt are originally saltwater sailors from New Jersey who moved to Staunton in 2022. After joining FOMR, the couple has been able to develop new freshwater hobbies. As a former early education teacher, Mary Clare enjoys participating in FOMR's educational outreach programs. Bob enjoys participating in Middle River cleanups and float trips. Thank you, Mary Clare & Bob, for your dedication to Friends of the Middle River! | | Thanks, Staunton Parks & Rec, for Collaborating With Us! | | In July, Friends of the Middle River collaborated with Staunton Parks and Recreation on two very fun & successful events: River Discovery Day on July 19th and a Float Trip on July 26th! Each event brought us in contact with folks from Staunton who were mostly unfamiliar with our Middle River and we are so grateful to Staunton Parks & Rec for connecting us to all of our new Friends! Read more about our collaboration with Staunton Parks & Rec here. | | | | | | In case you missed it -- in April, we rolled out a brand-new way to support Friends of the Middle River in 2025! Like you, we’d rather be paddling than putting stamps on envelopes and pestering you for money, so we’re excited to create an easier way for you to show your support. With YOUR help, our river-themed supporter program - ranging from our Riffle tier at $30 to our Watershed tier at $240 - will help us continue and even expand our work. Our local community has always played an essential part in our organization’s ability to be the voice of Middle River - YOU are Friends of the Middle River. We’re looking forward to the ways in which this new supporter program will help us to continue to connect and grow locally. Please check out our FAQs on our "Join FOMR" landing page to learn more about how our new model works and become a Supporter. And we hope to see you on the water!! Ready to support us? Click the "support" button below! | |
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