Privacy Policy

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Contact Form

When you submit a contact form, we collect personal information, including your email address and any additional information you choose to provide, to respond to your inquiry. This information will only be used to address your request and provide relevant support or services. It will not be used for marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

We use the information provided in the contact form solely to respond to your inquiries and provide customer service. Your information is kept secure and will not be shared with third parties, except where required by law or as necessary to fulfill your request.

Newsletter Signup

When you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address to send you updates, promotions, and news related to our business. Your email address will only be used for the purpose of delivering these communications.

We use your email address to send newsletters and other promotional content. You can opt out of receiving these emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our communications or contacting us directly.

We use Mailchimp to manage and deliver newsletters. Your email address is stored securely by Mailchimp in compliance with applicable data protection regulations. You can review Mailchimp’s privacy policy here.

Volunteer Signup Events

When you sign up for a volunteer event, we may collect your personal information, including your name, email address, and any additional details required for the event (e.g., age group, preferences, or emergency contact information). This information is collected to coordinate participation and communicate important event details.

We use the information collected during volunteer signup to:

• Register participants for events.
• Communicate event details, updates, and reminders.
• Ensure the safety and suitability of events for all age groups (e.g., children, teens, and adults).
• Gather feedback or follow up after the event.

We use Eventbrite, a third-party platform, to manage volunteer event registrations. When you sign up through Eventbrite, your personal information is stored securely by Eventbrite and subject to their privacy policy. You can review Eventbrite’s privacy policy here.

For volunteer events involving children under the age of 13, we require parental or guardian consent for participation. We take additional measures to ensure that children’s personal information is handled securely and in compliance with applicable laws, such as COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act).

We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information collected through volunteer event signups from unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse. Personal information is retained only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined above, unless a longer retention period is required by law.

If you wish to update, delete, or opt out of the use of your personal information, please contact us directly.

Information Collected Through Analytics

We use WP Statistics, a privacy-focused analytics tool, to collect information about how visitors interact with our website. The data collected includes anonymized details such as the pages visited, time spent on the site, browser type, and geographic location (based on anonymized IP addresses). WP Statistics does not use third-party services, ensuring that all analytics data remains private and stored locally on our servers.

We use analytics data to:

• Monitor and improve website performance and functionality.
• Understand user behavior and trends.
• Enhance the user experience based on website interactions.

All analytics data collected through WP Statistics is anonymized and stored securely on our servers. We do not share this data with third parties. The data is retained only as long as necessary for analysis and improvement purposes.

Since WP Statistics does not collect personally identifiable information, there is minimal impact on your data privacy. If you have any questions about our analytics practices, please feel free to contact us.

How long we retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.