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friends@therouge.org | 734-927-4900 | Fax: 734-927-4920

BOSCH Community Fund Demonstrates Strong FOTR Support

PRESS RELEASE

June 14, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bosch Community Fund demonstrates strong support for Friends of the Rouge in 2018

The fund will support general programmatic support along with the underwriting to install an onsite laboratory at the new office space in Plymouth.

(PDF of Press Release)

Metro Detroit, Mich. – In April 2018, the Bosch Community Fund approved a generous grant to Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) in the amount of $57,600 to support general operational support at $35,000 and the remainder to underwrite the installation of the Bosch Laboratory in the new FOTR office space at the Plymouth Arts and Recreation Complex (PARC).

The general funds support and enhance environmental education and stewardship efforts and allow the FOTR to offer hands-on education and restoration activities. The funding supports flagship programs including Rouge Rescue, the Rouge Education Project and the Benthic Macro-Invertebrate Monitoring Program.

“We are thrilled to have such an amazing partner like Bosch,” stated Marie McCormick, FOTR executive director, “this kind of support provides pivotal funding to maintain and grow the organization to meet our mission to restore, protect and enhance the Rouge River.”

As one of the nation’s largest annual clean up events, Rouge Rescue brings thousands of citizens throughout southeastern Michigan to sites around the watershed for a day of restoring and celebrating the Rouge River. The Rouge Education Project (REP) is a 30-year-old nationally recognized model water quality monitoring program that engages thousands of students each year in hands-on science education and provides meaningful service learning opportunities for students to get further involved with stewarding their hometown river. The Benthic Macro-invertebrate Monitoring Program has involved volunteers in collecting “bug” data for the Rouge River for 20 years, using these aquatic insects, clams, and snails as indicators.

The new Bosch Laboratory at PARC will support the Rouge Education Program and Volunteer Monitoring Programs including the Benthic Macro-invertebrate Monitoring Program to host small workshops and classes, conduct follow-up testing for teachers or students, and increase data validity for sample result comparisons.

“The Bosch Community Fund is pleased to support the Friends of the Rouge,” stated Kathleen Owsley, Bosch Community Fund President, “The FOTR continues to play a key role in our community in supporting the environment, project-based learning for students and building future environmental stewards. We are very happy to support their move to PARC and welcome them to Plymouth.”

Friends of the Rouge is a 501 (c)(3) corporation whose mission is to promote the restoration and stewardship of the Rouge River ecosystem through education, citizen involvement, and other collaborative efforts, for the purpose of improving the quality of life of the people, plants and animals of the watershed.

The space will include a ducted and enclosed fume hood, small incubator for E. coli testing, drying oven to measure total solids, sensitive scale to measure total solids, a deep wash basin and four resin top lab workbenches.

Contacts:

Marie McCormick, Executive Director
Friends of the Rouge
313.792.9627
mmccormick@therouge.org

About the Friends of the Rouge

The Friends of the Rouge is a local, community-driven nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1986 to raise awareness about the need to clean up the Rouge River in southeast Michigan. To learn more about the Rouge River Water Trail, visit us at www.therouge.org

The Bosch Community Fund, a U.S.-based foundation established in September 2011, has awarded more than $20 million in grants to various 501(c)(3) organizations and educational institutions. The BCF focuses primarily on the enrichment of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and the advancement of environmental sustainability initiatives.