Assateague Island Alliance (AIA), a 501(c)3 organization, is the official Friends Group to benefit Assateague Island National Seashore. All gifts of donation support Assateague Island's Alliance's mission to promote the awareness, education, and stewarship of Assateague Island National Seashore's wildlife and natural resources for the enjoyment of current and future generations. We need your help to "Keep 'em Wild'! The Assateague horses that is! Our focus continues to be on educating visitors to Assateague Island parks about this importance of proper food storage and maintaining a safe distance to keep themselves and wildlife safe. In 2024, AIA continued to fund interns to assist with the Wild Horse Management program. Interns have proven to be extremely effective in recent years by having a presence on the island where humans and horses share space and provide educational messages to keep interactions safe. AIA purchased a new shiny golf cart for to add to the fleet used by Pony Patrol volunteers to provide quick and safe access to areas of the park where human horse interactions occur. We also purchased TWO recycling dumpsters (we know they're not exciting but they sure are necessary) to be delivered to Assateague Island National Seashore this fall. This program continues to be tremendously successful and we're hoping to grow it even bigger and better in 2025. This years' Giving Tuesday event is for the purpose of hiring THREE Wild Horse Management Interns in 2025! We hope you will donate so we can continue to make a difference for both wildlife and visitors in our favorite National Seashore! Help us 'Keep 'em Wild'! Funds generated through the foster program, foal naming, donations, and sale of merchandise have benefitted Assateague's wildlife and visitors in recent years. In 2019, proper food storage solutions took center stage. Along with a grant from the Maryland Heritage Area Authority, AIA raised $100,000 to support replacing all 222 picnic tables in the National Seashore with wildlife proof food storage containers. We also purchased reusable cooler straps to distribute to day-use visitors. In 2020, despite the challenges of the pandemic, donations from our generous supporters allowed AIA to refurbish two golf carts and provide stipends and safety equipment for two Wild Horse Management Interns who educated the public on the importance of maintaining a safe distance from the horses and managed wild horses and visitor interactions. In 2021, AIA purchased a third golf cart for the Pony Patrol volunteers, provide materials and methods to prevent incidences or injuries due to negative human-horse interactions, including expanding our efforts to reach visitors outside of the park so they know how to prepare for their visit. As the pandemic continued to influence visitation, Assateague Island National Seashore saw record numbers of visitors. AIA provided $7,125.00 to fund one Avian Monitoring Intern and two Wild Horse Management interns. AIA provided $3705.00 to fund golf cart repairs and a new golf cart for Pony Patrol volunteers. During another challenging year it was imperative to provide interns to assist park management strategies and to have a presence on the island where humans and horses share space and provide educational messages to keep interactions safe. These ongoing efforts to support park service staff have continued through 2022. In 2023, AIA provided $16,800 to fund seven Resource Education Interns split between the Maryland and Virginia districts; $1,105.00 to fund golf cart repairs for horse management staff and volunteers;provided $6,747 for eight benches and $1,525 for one Pinnacle binocular scope for the new Visitor Center boardwalk; plus we began a citizen science initiative in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service tagging horseshoe crabs with small volunteer groups. We tagged 1,350 horseshoe crabs this year! Thanks to your support, AIA continues to offer the following ongoing programs and initiatives: • Provide educational programming such as health and wellness such as Beach Yoga and Full Moon Yoga, artist workshops and Artist if Residency program, lifelong learning and citizen science events and opportunities • Manage outreach programs such as the popular Foster Horse Program • Preserve wildlife and their habitat through direct support of innovative research and education • Conduct charitable fundraisers including the rare opportunity to name one of the wild horses of Assateague • Ensure that Assateague is protected for future generations to come • Organize volunteer work groups