We have spent the last year focused on working on elements of our strategic plan to grow the organization while also navigating the best way for us to engage people in this new landscape. We tried some new things, some successful and others not as much, but overall, it was a fantastic year with a lot of great highlights and lessons learned.
As we move into 2023, our focus is on making our organization more sustainable following our recent period of growth. This focus has me turning toward internal processes, efficiency and financials to keep us thriving.
Part of this process is planning in advance so that we can share information with you more effectively! So, along that vein, here are some important dates we want to share with you for next year!
- Drive Thru Drop Off Specialty Recycling Event on Saturday April 29th at Brewery Ommegang
- Halloween Hike-A-Thon on Saturday, October 28th
We are also very excited to be welcoming back some of our favorite programs that have been on hiatus since 2020! Everyone should save the dates for the following OCCA events happening in 2023:
- Lecture Series: January 25th, March 22nd, August 3rd, and September 20th (details coming soon)
- Saturday, April 15th - Earth Festival Returns at the Milford Central School
- Friday, June 9th- The OCCA Annual Community Picnic at Mohican Farm
When it comes to the financial portion of our sustainability, we have grown our contractual relationships and grant funded projects, which is great. However, to run a truly healthy not for profit, our income streams should be equal on our balance sheet at the year end. Right now, that is not the case with OCCA, but it is with your help we can change that.
The third arm of our nonprofit's income stream comes from donors like you. Your donations make our work possible and help us do more as we expand our reach. Without your support, we would not be able to do all the invasive species' management and education, host educational sessions for the public, have recreational hikes and walks to get people into nature, host citizen scientist water monitoring teams, or provide specialty recycling events and recycling education.
Recently, a young man who joined one of our hikes had this to say about his experience: “I learned really cool fun facts about trees. Trees can make their leaves taste bad, communicate with their roots, and that white pine trees have five needles in one sprout (just like the word white has 5 letters) and red pine trees have three (just like the word red has 3 letters). Beech trees are getting sick. The instructor knew the answers to all my nature questions, and I like to ask questions. I really learned a lot and even my 4-year-old sister liked it!” - JK, Age 8
We want to create more experiences just like this for children and adults alike, but we can only do that with your generous donations. Please consider giving this year to help us create more excited community members to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of our environment.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you in person this coming year!