The time is now to create a better future!

Hello Friends, 

For over 10 years I have been working with Clean Air. It all began in 2008 with a conversation with my coworker, Shane.  Shane was 10 years older than me and was an “Islander.”  I had just moved to Grand Island and Shane was my navigator. He helped me see everything that my new home had to offer.  As a result of this, we got to know each other well. He was putting a lot of his money away for his retirement, he was proposing to his girlfriend, and he loved to fish.

After work each day he would take his metal dinghy out into the Niagara River and fish.  It was a great way to escape from the chaos of the world, to be at ease.  If you aren’t familiar with the south end of Grand Island by Beaver Island State Park, there are multiple places to launch a boat.  Shane lived near there, he grew up there, and he fished there.

One day at work Shane told me he went to his doctor.  He had a tennis ball sized lump under his arm.  Yup, it’s exactly what you think, cancer.  It was a 9 month battle.  Shane, my coworker, my navigator, my friend, was dead at 32 years old.

In his last few months the Buffalo News published an article that Tonawanda Coke was spewing copious amounts of benzene into the air, directly across the river from where Shane grew up, lived and fished.  To this day I believe Tonawanda Coke was the root cause of Shane’s cancer.

But my story isn’t just about Shane. It’s about this organization and the community, because that is what Clean Air is.

Who was it that lobbied the DEC to check pollutants at Tonawanda Coke? [Clean Air Did!] Who fought for controls to operations that decreased Benzene emissions by over 90%? [Clean Air Did!]  Who alerted the DEC when TCC violated their probation? [Clean Air Did!]  And who will make sure that the abandoned waste land is cleaned up correctly?  [Clean Air Will!]

This year, I have made a commitment to raise $1,000 from my family and friends to keep our work going. Our work saves lives and changes our communities for the better. But we need you to keep going. Plus, when you give right now, each dollar you invest in will be matched.  

Please take some time to think of your future, your family's future and your community's future.  Shane's future was taken from him, don't let that happen to others.   The time is now!

Thank you! 

Nick