Charles River Clean Up Boat

Charles River Clean Up Boat is the most effective non-profit organization I know. It operates almost entirely on volunteer effort (boat drivers are required by the insurance company to receive a stipend), and with donated equipment and a lot of volunteer energy it cleans the Charles River of floating trash that has blown in, been thrown in, or washed into the river from storm drains along the river's length. The Clean Up Boat operates four days a week from May into October, and cleans along a seven-mile stretch of the Charles, from Watertown to the Zakim Bridge, where the river flows into Boston Harbor. Volunteers scoop trash from the river with nets and hooks; now in its eleventh year of existence, the CUB has removed thousands of pounds of trash from the river. The Cambridgeside Galleria allows us to leave recyclables for disposal by the Galleria, and the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation has agreed to pick up and dispose of non-recyclables we scoop. The work is strenuous, but fun and rewarding, and this grassroots organization has drawn in over 300 very willing volunteers who want to make a difference. The organization has almost no administrative costs, and a number of large donors have told us that the Clean Up Boat provides the most value for the donor dollar of any organization they sponsor.

I sail on the Charles River, and started volunteering with the Clean Up Boat in gratitude for the great times I've had sailing. I continue to volunteer with the CUB because every time I go out I have a wonderful time, I meet a new person or two, I get some good exercise, and at the end of my volunteer day i feel as if I have made a real difference to the river, and to the enjoyment of others on or next to the river. The Charles is a tremendous resource for the communities along its banks, and the Charles River Clean Up Boat is a wonderful outfit that helps me appreciate the river even more.