Norwalk –Save the Sound, a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment, joined Kayak for a Cause (KFAC) in the annual paddle across Long Island Sound to raise money for five community-based organizations: Save the Sound, Outward Bound, Canine Companions, the Maritime Aquarium, and Builders Beyond Borders. Over the past nine years, KFAC has raised over $103,000 for Save the Sound.
Now in its tenth year, KFAC has grown into an all-day summer adventure. This year, 220 kayakers gathered at Crab Meadow on Long Island early in the morning and paddled 12.4 miles before landing at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk, Connecticut. Three hundred and fifteen volunteers will keep the day running smoothly, ensuring that both beachheads are staffed, chase boats are manned, entertainment is lined up, and vendors are on hand. Like last year, the day ends with a lobster bake and musical entertainment.
“KFAC is all about the positive emotions and desires in people: charity, fitness, friendship, and teamwork and we are so excited to be raising funding for the five charities we have chosen this year,” said Miles Spencer, co-founder of Kayak for a Cause.
For the first time, the kayakers will also be participating in one of the largest water-based cleanups, and Save the Sound hosted an early morning boating expedition out to cleanup Shea Island—a popular camping spot located a mile off of Norwalk. Upon returning, all the crews will offload their trash and Save the Sound volunteers will count and sort it based on decomposition rates, using it as an opportunity to educate all about the necessity to reduce, reuse, and recycle. New signage, designed and built in partnership with Builders Beyond Borders, will help highlight the importance of keeping detritus out of our Sound.
“We are so proud to be part of this amazing event and thrilled that KFAC has enabled us, through its ongoing generosity, to work on the projects that protect, preserve, and enhance Long Island Sound’s vitality,” said Leah Schmalz, Director of Legislative and Legal Affairs for Save the Sound. “There is no better example of what can happen when community spirit meets passion—over 200 people raising money for local charities while cleaning up the Sound’s water and habitats. In my book, it’s a perfect summer Saturday here in Connecticut.”
Save the Sound’s coastline cleanup program brings huge results for Connecticut. Last year 2,771 volunteers cleaned up over 21, 500 pounds of trash from 63 miles of Connecticut coastline.
