Hands Along the Water cancels Saturday demonstration
Decision was made out of respect for the Hurricane Michael recovery effort; message to now be delivered to elected officials electronically
VENICE — Hands Along the Water canceled its planned statewide peaceful demonstration this weekend because of the recovery efforts after Hurricane Michael impacted the Florida Panhandle.
The event “Hands Across the State” had been set for Saturday and included events in Venice, Sarasota and Waller Park in Tallahassee.
Read more: Complete coverage of red tide in Southwest Florida
Samantha Gentrup, one of the founding members of the grassroots environmental group, said the decision to cancel the event was made Friday by its leadership team.
“We wanted to be respectful of people in Florida who are going through their own issues,” Gentrup said. “We didn’t feel it was right to pull any energy at all away from what those people in the Panhandle need.”
A notice posted on the Hands Along the Water Facebook page and on handsalongthewater.com requested that anyone who is able donate to local charities to help those in need.
The intent of the statewide event was to present both current elected officials and candidates on the Nov. 6 ballot with an open letter that would address how Hands Along the Water views the environmental disaster the state is currently faced with because of red tide and the blue-green algae flowing from Lake Okeechobee to estuaries on both sides of the state.
Since it’s problematic to organize another statewide event before election day, Gentrup said the group would pursue delivering its message electronically.
The letter will soon be available on the nonprofit’s website and will cover several commitments that Hands Along the Water hope to see adopted:
• Working toward implementing a statewide stormwater rule and best management practices for water and soil protection.
• Restoring funding and resources to the Department of Environmental Protection and the state's water management districts.
• Following the guidelines of the 2014 Amendment 1 for devoting money to buying land for preservation.
Gentrup said the group hopes to link up with another environmental initiative to help deliver the online message.
Meanwhile, Hands Along the Water is registered with the state of Florida on sunbiz.org and is allowed to solicit funds. It is still working to receive federal nonprofit status, so any donations made via its website are not yet tax deductible.
Rob Merlino, part of the research team of volunteers, is also working on marketing a T-shirt through customink.com as a way to raise money to pay for independent water testing of waters in Sarasota County and the city of Venice. The link for that can be found at: bit.ly/2Ck5YXw.
No other local events are planned, though Gentrup said she planned to attend the Oct. 29 Tidal Town Hall — a forum organized by tidaltownhalls.org, designed to give voters a chance to ask candidates their plans to counteract sea level rise and flooding — which is being hosted from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, 3975 Fruitville Road, Sarasota.
“What I’m enjoying watching, with Hands Along the Water, is how our organization is evolving,” Gentrup said. “We’re evolving to be an organization that’s really speaking out locally and offering our volunteer assistance to implement the thing we’re asking our cities and counties to do.”