A Virginia nonprofit is looking to continue their work in the face of the founder's passing. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
Sari Carp founded Sustainability Matters in 2018 to educate people about environmental topics and pioneer projects such as Making Trash Bloom, which has sown native pollinator meadows on landfills in Shenandoah, Rappahannock, and Fairfax counties. Carp died on August 4th following a brief battle with gallbladder cancer. She was 50 years old.
KARA BALCERZAK: Sari just had such a way of … sharing excitement and passion and helping people feel and know that they could make a difference, themselves. And that was a beautiful thing that she gave us, and I'm really grateful for it.
Kara Balcerzak has been named the interim executive director while the team searches for a permanent hire. She started volunteering with the organization in early 2020, and joined the staff as a part-time grant writer and organizational strategist last year.
BALCERZAK: When Sari got the cancer diagnosis … she said, "I'm so glad we have the staff in place that we do, because I know that the organization can continue without me." And that was incredibly important to her. This is her life's work. This is her passion.
And the team is doing just that, planning educational events including webinars for the fall on houseplants and making the holidays more sustainable. And, landfills in Massachusetts and North Carolina have expressed interest in starting Making Trash Bloom projects there.
BALCERZAK: Sari was planning to hire a full-time Making Trash Bloom coordinator this fall who would be able to travel and start bringing Making Trash Bloom to other states. Of course, that's going to be pushed back a little bit now … but we're really excited to be growing and expanding.
To learn more about their upcoming events, visit their website at sustainabilitymatters.earth.
