Teigan’s Bar Mitzvah Cleanup

It is customary to do a Mitzvah project in connection with becoming a Bar Mitzvah. For my project, I wanted to focus on helping our environment. I have always wanted to help our environment. I love doing activities like going on hikes, running, fishing, and so many other things that all revolve around our environment. Every time I do one of these activities it pains me to see just how much pollution there is out there; broken bottles, soda cans, plastic bags, and even things like old shoes! I am guessing that most of you have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and know that the Potomac river runs through Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. You might have even heard that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of Texas, but did you know that it is estimated that there are about 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? That's 250 pieces of plastic per person on this planet! And maybe you knew that 5 million local residents depended on the Potomac River for water, but did you know that it is home to 1,400 plants and animals 200 of which are considered globally rare? So what should we do?

I have been doing some research and have found 2 organizations that I think are doing a great job on helping the effort of cleaning our environment. The first organization is called The Ocean Cleanup ( https://theoceancleanup.com/ ). They have 2 great inventions that are helping clean our oceans and you can find out more about them by going to this link and clicking on either oceans or rivers in the top left corner of the page (https://theoceancleanup.com/ ). The second organization is called the Potomac Conservancy (https://potomac.org/) which helps clean up the Potomac River. They also grade the overall health of the river and have lots of information on the river to help us stay on track cleaning up the Potomac. I recently did a cleanup with them and was pleased by how well it ran - we collected almost 760 pounds of trash! To help support these organizations in their efforts, I am setting up a GoFundMe to raise money for both organizations. I hope you can make a donation to help me in reaching my goal of raising at least $4,000 dollars that I will split half and half between the organizations.

But taking care of the environment isn’t just about raising money. It’s also about taking action. That’s why in addition to raising money I am going to an Earth Day cleanup hosted by the Potomac Conservancy. I hope some of you in Virginia will consider joining me. It is April 23 from 9-12 at Jones Point Park. My goal is to try and get the max amount of participants. The link to register is https://potomac.org/pc-events/2022/4/23/potomac-river-cleanup-at-jones-point-park-for-earth-day . (Please sign up sooner than later in case the spots all fill up.) For those of you that are not able to join me, I encourage you to find a local Earth Day cleanup that you can attend to help your community.

Every little bit counts - any spare time you have or even just a $10 or $20 donation can make a difference!