Skidaway Audubon Seeking Supporters

Courtesy of Skidaway Audubon 

As Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday approaches, Skidaway Audubon is reaching out to the community on Giving Tuesday...an international day of giving when caring donors support their favorite causes.

Giving Tuesday, set for November 29, began 10 years ago as a philanthropic counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Now observed in more than 70 countries, it is the biggest giving movement in the world.

For the first time, Skidaway Audubon is participating in Giving Tuesday, as it depends on donations to carry out its numerous programs and initiatives dedicated to enhancing, conserving, and protecting the island’s unique environment.

“For Giving Tuesday, we have teamed up with Merrill Lynch, which is hosting a Giving Tuesday Reception, an informational session on donation options such as gifting stocks, tax-free distributions from retirement funds, and other beneficial strategies,” said Skidaway Audubon President Dawn Cordo.

This complimentary, informative session is set for Tuesday, November 29, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Merrill Lynch offices (3 Skidaway Village Square). Light refreshments will be served. Register at SkidawayAudubon.org and click on "Events".  Seats are limited.

Powered by volunteers, Skidaway Audubon maintains one of the largest networks of bluebird houses in the Southeast, the largest Diamondback Terrapin rescue project on the East Coast, a state-of-the-art bird cam with worldwide viewership, an invasive tree removal program, bat houses to reduce mosquito populations, pollinator gardens to increase native habitat, and weather stations to promote water conservation.  Audubon also offers special events to promote environmental awareness, stewardship, and sustainability.

As an all-volunteer nonprofit with no overhead or staff, every penny donated to Skidaway Audubon helps enable the continuation of its conservation and education programs and initiatives.

“Whether you’re seven or 70, when you release a baby terrapin into the marsh and start it on its life’s journey,  watch a wobbly, newborn osprey grow into a resplendent raptor on our Bird Cam, see a monarch butterfly miraculously emerge from its chrysalis at Sparrow Field, or touch a leathery lizard at one of our live animal events, you feel connected to nature and a desire to protect it,” said Cordo. “And that’s what Audubon does -- we strive to create a stronger sense of stewardship, but we can’t do it alone. To remain a sustainable community, we need the community's support. With our volunteers and the support of caring donors, we can protect vulnerable wildlife and contribute to the long-term sustainability of this truly treasured island environment.”

Skidaway Audubon was originally created to help The Landings Club take steps to protect the natural environment, which, after years of work, enabled all six golf courses to become certified by Audubon International as cooperative sanctuaries. Only six percent of golf courses in the U.S. have attained certification. Then, after completing work in 15 different focus areas, Skidaway Audubon helped the entire Landings community to be designated as a Certified Sustainable Community. It is one of 13 in the nation and the only community in Georgia that has achieved this significant designation.

The entire community can be proud of these achievements, but much work remains. The popular bird cam, which provides a spectacular, live look at nesting raptors, plus the weather monitoring stations, require high-tech maintenance, butterfly gardens require additional plantings, bat houses require poles that can withstand hurricane-force winds, bluebird nesting boxes and turtle hatcheries need yearly maintenance, additional work is needed at the Sparrow Field pollinator berm, and the annual live animal presentations (a community favorite) are a significant cost to the organization.

Those unable to attend the Nov. 29 info session on Giving Tuesday can visit SkidawayAudubon.org and click on Donate Now to make an instant online donation at any time. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made anonymously or in honor of a loved one. 

“On behalf of our volunteers, and all of our wonderful wildlife, thank you for supporting our efforts to educate and engage our residents, and preserve one of Skidaway’s greatest assets -- our beautiful island environment,” said Cordo.

 

Photos by Amy Collings



This article was originally published by The Landings Association on their website.

Visit landings.org to read the original article.
https://landings.org/news/2022/11/15/skidaway-audubon-seeking-supporters