What Our Members Mean
by Jackie Carlson, membership and individual giving manager
Save The Bay has been a member-based organization since 1970. What that means to us as an organization is that our members are critical to our efforts to protect and improve Narragansett Bay. What that mean to me, in my position as membership and individual giving manager, is that I get the unique and wonderful opportunity to interact daily with a variety of people, from different backgrounds, all with one common interest: Narragansett Bay. Whether I’m speaking with a grandparent who became a member so they could take their grandchildren to our Exploration Center and Aquarium in Newport to learn about the critters of our Bay, or to a longtime volunteer who gives not only their time, but also provides membership support, I enjoy interacting with all of our members.
As a member of Save The Bay myself, I get to see first-hand what my support provides, both inside and outside of the Save The Bay Center. In addition to reaping the benefits of a special member price for BayCamp (a highlight of my son’s summer), visiting the Exploration Center, and a discount at Mystic Aquarium, my family and I have also participated in beach cleanups in our community in Southeastern Massachusetts and have seen the habitat restoration work completed by members of our town with the help of Save The Bay staff and volunteers. The lessons my children have learned through the Save The Bay educators have impressed even our out-of-town family members, who’ve become members themselves.
Besides providing essential support through membership, our Save The Bay members also serve as ambassadors and educators within their own networks. Some of my favorite interactions are with new members who learned of Save The Bay from a friend, neighbor or family member and decided to join as members themselves. It’s as simple as displaying one of our iconic bumper stickers on a car or wearing one of our comfy T-shirts; our members serve as moving billboards across the region and even outside of New England.
During this season of thanks, we are so very grateful for and to all of our members. Thank you for your support of Save The Bay’s mission, and more personally, thank you for sharing your stories with me. Each and every member of Save The Bay is important to the organization and crucial to our continuing work to protect and improve the Bay we all love!