Chicago River Day

18th annual Chicago River Day
Saturday, May 8, 2010

Who

Friends of the Chicago River and 4,000 volunteers gather for a day of hands-on environmental work along the Chicago River. Volunteers include ordinary citizens and policy-makers alike who range in age from pre-schoolers to seniors, represent a wide variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds, and reside throughout the 673-square mile Chicago River watershed.

What

Volunteers work side-by-side to collect garbage and sort for recycling, remove invasive vegetation, spruce up river-edge trails, plant native seedlings and more. Friends is also expanding hands-on learning opportunities this year by introducing volunteers to simple everyday practices that conserve water, help stop unnecessary flooding, and prevent pollutants from running into the river

When

Saturday, May 8, 2010, 9 a.m. to noon

Where

Sixty sites along the banks of the Chicago River, as well as five “watershed thinking” sites, from as far north as Route 120 in Lake County to as far south as Blue Island in Cook County. A complete list of sites will be available in early March 2010 on our Find a Site page found by clicking the link in the column to the right.

Become a Sponsor

Critical to the success of Chicago River Day is the support of sponsors that invest in the efforts of Friends’ volunteers. Even with thousands of dollars of donated goods and services, it costs Friends about $13 for each Chicago River Day volunteer. This covers supplies like gloves, garbage bags, permits, insurance, plants, and the t-shirts that all volunteers receive and wear with pride to show their support for the river.

In return for their support, sponsors have the opportunity for substantial market exposure, employee involvement, new found goodwill toward their company, and the knowledge that their contribution made a tangible, measurable difference.

To learn more about sponsorship for Chicago River Day, click the Sponsorship link in the column to the right.