How One Woman Is Giving Back to the Rivers That Shaped Her Life

From canoeing as a child with her family through the Pine Barrens to trips on the Allagash and Upper Delaware to whitewater paddling on the Potomac, Youghiogheny and Deschutes, Beth Blattenberger’s life has been blessed by rivers.

It’s why she chose to join our River Legacy Society and support American Rivers with a deferred charitable gift annuity.

“I’m very fortunate, and it’s important to be able to give back,” she says.

Today, Beth resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her sister, who taught her how to kayak.

“Rivers have been very important to me — spiritually important. And the spiritual part of my life is something I’m paying more attention to now. Rivers have provided so many life lessons. As the veins and arteries of the land, they are metaphors for life.”

Beth created a charitable gift annuity by making a gift of cash to American Rivers in return for a yearly payment that will continue for the rest of her life. When the gift matures, the remaining assets will be used by American Rivers to support the organization’s general operations.

These funds will help ensure American Rivers can tackle the most urgent threats facing rivers and clean water around the country, enable innovation and provide fuel for growth.