Clearwater - Membership

Good Mornin’
Brother Hudson
Brother Fred
Kirkpatrick - 87K

I think Clearwater is one of the best environmental organizations around. They—we!—are making a difference every day with the kids we reach.
Clearwater member Denise Woodin

Use this secure online form to Join, Renew, or give a Gift Membership.

Also, please consider a gift to the Next Generation Legacy Project or Sloop Restoration Fund.
Help us reach our goal of $250,000—to be matched by a NYS Grant for Sloop Restoration!

Click here for a form you can print and mail
in along with a check for your Membership.

The Clearwater Legacy Project

Pete Seeger launched Clearwater 40 years ago with a vision of saving the Hudson River. Clearwater is renewing that spirit in 2009 to honor Pete’s 90th birthday, sloop Clearwater’s 40th anniversary and the commemoration of Henry Hudson’s arrival 400 years ago. Clearwater will again make a historic contribution to the Hudson Valley as we launch the Clearwater Legacy Project. This project will help grow the next generation of environmental leaders critical to our future.

Clearwater’s strategy to inspire, educate and activate the people in the Hudson Valley is still a powerful formula for success. Clearwater has wonderfully effective and synergetic program departments based on each of these themes. Over the last 40 years, our concerts, sloop education programs and environmental advocacy programs have inspired, educated and activated millions of people. We are the grassroots leader for the greening of the Hudson Valley, often referred to as the “Clearwater Nation” or “The Flagship of the Environmental Movement”. Clearwater is the 12 year old who starts a recycling program in their school, the leader of the DEC, the business owner incubating green jobs, the musician singing for a cleaner river or the parent who teaches their kids how to live in harmony with nature. At this critical time, we need to mobilize all our resources to grow the next generation of environmental leaders. As Pete says, “The time is now or we will not, I fear, have a future for the human race.”

Tell me more. Sloop Restoration

History tells us that most sloops have a useful lifespan of only 10-15 years and the Clearwater has been going strong for over 30! While we’ve made a number of significant (and necessary) repairs over the last few years we now have to face the daunting task of replacing the entire hull, including planking and some frames, and to inspect the horn timber.

This massive undertaking will cost $500,000 but is long overdue and must be done if the sloop is to remain America’s Environmental Flagship. This work is so important that the State of New York has offered us a dollar for dollar matching grant of up to $250,000 to make sure we get it done.

This is a great opportunity! Every dollar we raise for this sloop restoration will be matched by a dollar in grant funds from the State. If we can raise the $250,000 match we can accomplish this important project for half-price and avoid tying up even more of our organizational dollars!

Tell me more.

Donors who make financial contributions to Clearwater are put on our donor mailing list. Clearwater does not trade, share, or sell the email addresses of our donors. However, we do occasionally make our donors’ names and mailing addresses available to other like-minded nonprofit organizations for the purpose of a specific fundraising appeal. Clearwater will not trade, share, or sell any name or mailing address that has been requested by the donor not to be traded, shared, or sold. If visitors have questions, comments, or requests regarding the privacy of the information shared through this website, please contact: Clearwater, 112 Little Market St. Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, Phone: 845-454-7673 x120, Toll Free: 800-67-SLOOP, or Email: office@clearwater.org

A copy of our latest annual report may be obtained through the NYS Attorney General’s Office, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. Financial information is available at Charity Navigator and Guidestar.

Clearwater Is...

Thousands of members, who have a dream of a better world and the unwavering belief that individuals can make a difference in bringing about a cleaner, safer world for ourselves and future generations.
Thousands of volunteers, who make the dream a reality by helping to sail the sloop, organizing and producing the Great Hudson River Revival, running local activities of the Clearwater Sloop Clubs, providing support for Pumpkin Festivals and other waterfront events, and performing office tasks from stuffing envelopes to mowing the grass at the Poughkeepsie office.
A dedicated crew and staff, whose fulltime effort goes into keeping the sloop sailing (for it is a powerful symbol and practical tool for environmental protection and education) and working with schools concerned, citizens, legislators and regulatory agencies to bring about positive change. Clearwater pursues strategies for improving water quality, expanding public access to shorelines, promoting water conservation, protecting critical habitats and cleaning up toxic wastes so the Hudson River can once again safely provide food for the millions who live along its shores.

Won’t you please join us?

Your membership helps protect and restore the Hudson River and related waterways by supporting Clearwater’s work:

Education programs on board the sloop Clearwater and school field trips on land.
Celebration of the gains we have made to establish a healthier river environment.
Advocacy in Albany and Washington, D.C. for protection of our precious resources.

Membership benefits include:

A subscription to the Navigator, our semiannual newsletter.
The opportunity to join the crew for a week as an on-board volunteer.
Discounted purchases on Clearwater merchandise.
Reduced admission to Clearwater’s annual music festival—the Great Hudson River Revival.
The opportunity to elect members of Clearwater’s Board of Directors.
The chance to let your friends be part-owners of the boat too, by giving a gift membership!

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.
112 Market Street · Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 · USA
845-454-7673 · office@clearwater.org

Good Mornin’ Brother Hudson by Brother Fred Kirkpatrick (BMI)
Lead vocal and guitar: Brother Fred Kirkpatrick - Vocal, bass and banjo: Pete Seeger
Copyright 1974 Stormking Music, Inc. - Copyright 1993 Clearwater, performance 1974 Clearwater
Photos: Steve Stanne, Stanne, John Barrett, Marty Gallanter, Steve J. Sherman - Button photo: Ted Spiegel