Mid-Year Report
August 2, 2020
This year was everything far from expected. In March we braced for a couple days of closure, which broadened into a couple months of community quarantine. It is undeniable to say that this pandemic has changed us, from putting some parts of our daily lives on pause to deleting others forever. We all had to adapt. We all had to make accommodations. We all grow in the same parcel, some of us stunted and some of us cut down, but we will all flourish together.
Due to state mandates and mandatory safety protocol, Project Ripples set a temporary discontinuation of bottle collection and recycling services from mid-March to mid-may. Yet, we knew that during this trial, when we were most needed we could not remain complacent.
From April to June, with the support of the Senior Residence at Landmark, Project Ripples launched a temporary grocery delivery service for the senior residents of Port Washington. It was a communal effort, by the community, for the community. Our young volunteers uptook the initiative to better the local community in this time of crisis.
Maintaining activity in our local communities is just as important as sustaining our impact on our international community. During our absence from bottle collection, we launched the first Project Ripples Tell Your Story Essay Challenge to students in the Philippines. We heard their stories of struggle, yet were baffled by their ability to see less of what was lost, and more of what could be gained.
Our usual bottle collection began in late May, and recycling resumed in June. Despite, our temporary leave, we managed to collect and recycle 11,860 bottles. As of today, we are continuing our normal services.
With our collections, we have continued to support our regulars including familiar names such as St.Joseph’s Indian School, St.Labre Indian School, Boys Town, The Nature Conservancy, and the Community Chest of Port Washington’s COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Most recently we have embarked upon a larger international project, providing the needed supplies to ensure that all students at our close partner, Ma’am Corazon Dingcong’s school district are able to continue their education on the newly implemented isolated learning platform. These supplies included printer ink, bond papers, and transistor radios for long-distance communication and continued learning supplies.
Because of the strength and resilience of our extensive communities, Project Ripples is inspired to move beyond this obstruction and create a bigger and better movement than we anticipated.
Stay tuned...