Two years ago, during the 2022 Giving Challenge, we invited you to Be the One to Share Myakka’s Magic by supporting our new Outreach and Environmental Education Program. Inspired by Sir David Attenborough, who noted that ‘no one will protect what they don’t care about and no one will care about what they’ve never experienced', we designed this program to help our community better understand the increasing challenges Myakka River State Park and its fragile ecosystems face.
Thanks to your very generous support, we raised over $37,000 during the 2022 Giving Challenge! Your gifts helped us continue to share Myakka’s Magic by funding a part-time position to spearhead social media, print media and in-person programming in support of the park and the Wild and Scenic Myakka River. Because of donors like you, since the 2022 Giving Challenge, hundreds of thousands meaningfully experienced Myakka through our impactful social media posts and print media articles. This content also increased their commitment to protecting this environmentally significant place. And, as most individuals were experiencing Myakka’s Magic remotely, you helped us minimize potential negative impact on Myakka’s sensitive ecosystems.
Importantly, as your gifts also allowed us to supercharge our fundraising and programming on behalf of the park, in 2023 we received a generous capacity building grant from Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation to keep this impactful momentum going! The timely funding is helping support our organization’s first full-time staff position, our executive director Miri Hardy, who is allowing us to further increase our education efforts, outreach and membership growth. And this would not have happened without you!
As a result of our increased capacity, we’re also able to augment our efforts to actively protect Myakka’s Magic. Because now more than ever, as a result of environmental changes and encroaching development, there is an urgent need to help conserve this beloved natural gem!
To that end, we’re building relationships with organizations such as Conservation Foundation of Gulf Coast, Florida State Park Foundation, Athletic Brewing Company and William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, and securing grants to support important park initiatives, infrastructure and equipment needs. We’re funding access to impactful nature connection programs at Myakka River State Park for at-risk youth and continuing to grow our advocacy and outreach efforts on behalf of the park and the Wild and Scenic Myakka River.
But we can’t do it alone!
On April 9-10, from noon to noon, we invite you to Be the One to Protect Myakka’s Magic by supporting Friends of Myakka River during the 2024 Giving Challenge. See
We thank you in advance for your gifts. Together, we’re protecting and sharing Myakka’s Magic, to the benefit of future generations and our own!
To Watch our 2024 Giving Challenge Commercial, click HERE.
See our Giving Challenge fundraising page, click HERE.
