Welcome to Balance Paddleboarding!
My name is Danielle Griffith, born and raised in good ole’ West Virginia. I moved to the beautiful town of Old Town, Alexandria about four years ago and absolutely fell in love with the area. From the cobblestone streets, the beautiful buildings, and the history around each and every corner, there’s something for everyone here.
The waterfront is no exception. I’ve been enthralled with the beauty of the parks along the Potomac as kids play soccer, dogs catch sticks, and families enjoy picnics while reading their favorite books… It’s like something out of a movie. But, while sitting on the banks looking out over the Potomac last summer, I realized something was missing.
My partner, Patrick, and I had an idea that would add to the beauty and experience of the river, an idea that would bring a healthy, active, and fun dynamic to this already wonderful place, an idea that would address the increasing amounts of litter that wash up along the banks of the Potomac. Balance Paddleboarding was born.
Balance Paddleboarding is unlike your normal paddleboarding business in that we are first and foremost dedicated to the beauty and preservation of the river. Litter floats ashore and sits there until a storm picks it up and moves it downstream to be a nuisance for someone else or, worse, until an animal consumes it.
Here in Alexandria, there’s a perfect storm of increased development, population growth, and budget constraints that, without the right action, could lead to further neglect of the natural beauty the Potomac offers. Now is the time that something must be done.
Balance Paddleboarding is a social enterprise that will bring more people to the river to experience all that the Potomac River offers through Stand-Up Paddleboard rentals and tours while taking action to remove the litter that plagues the shores.