Volunteering for the James

James River Association volunteers come in all shapes and sizes. They live all over the watershed, have many different skills and can be any age.

Meet our May Volunteer of the Month, Linus. He’s 12 years old student at Tuckahoe Middle School who lives in Lakeside, VA. Linus loves the James River and goes kayaking almost every week in the summer, so he understands the importance of keeping the river beautiful and clean. At school, he is involved with Service as Action, so of course he chose to volunteer for the James River!

When it comes to volunteering with the James River Association, Linus has done his fair share. He has picked up trash at numerous locations along the river, including along Upham Brook and Horsepen Branch, and at Ancarrow’s Landing and Texas Beach. All sorts of items were discovered during his cleanups, including toddler Nike Air Jordans!

His most memorable volunteer experience came when he chose to mark stormdrains with educational markers that remind citizens to put “only rain down the drain.” Linus had to pick up the stormdrain markers from the Department of Public Utilities, which meant navigating through Richmond’s City Hall. He affixed the markers to stormdrains in Carytown and even got his little brother Zane to help him.

When asked why he would encourage others to volunteer, Linus said “it’s really fun and you’re doing something good for your river. My uncle says you should know your river, but I say respect your river.”

Are you interested in volunteering for the James? If so, contact Ben Hawkins, Volunteer Coordinator, at bhawkins@jrava.org or (804) 788-8811, ext. 204.