Terms of Service and Website Use

1. Acceptance and scope

These Terms apply to gotorchards.org and the online information, forms, resources, and links provided by Generations of Threads – G.O.T. Orchards of Rhode Island. By submitting a form or using an interactive service, you agree to these Terms and the linked Privacy Policy, Accessibility Statement, and Safety & Legal Notice.

G.O.T. Orchards may update website content, programs, schedules, forms, and these Terms as the organization develops. The date above identifies the current version.

2. Nature of our programs and service boundaries

G.O.T. Orchards provides community-based mentoring, environmental education, gardening, arts, creative activities, and intergenerational participation.

G.O.T. Orchards is not an after-school program or a licensed childcare, daycare, drop-off, or custodial-supervision provider and does not assume custody of participating minors. It is not a healthcare or mental-health provider, counseling, therapy, case-management, crisis-response, or emergency-response service. Its mentoring and educational activities do not replace care from qualified professionals.

3. Youth participation, supervision, and safeguarding

Public events. A parent or legal guardian must remain present and responsible for their child. Participation does not transfer custody or make G.O.T. Orchards, its mentors, volunteers, or the host venue the child’s parent, guardian, or childcare provider.

Future supervised youth programs. If a future youth program includes limited staff supervision, its attendance, arrival, release, and parent or legal guardian consent requirements will be explained in writing. Limited activity supervision does not transfer legal custody, create a childcare relationship, or replace the responsibilities of the parent or legal guardian.

Parents or legal guardians must complete required consent procedures for participants under 18, and youth assent may also be required. Adults assigned to teen-facing roles must complete the screening, safeguarding, orientation, and supervision steps required for their assignment. Transportation is not provided by G.O.T. Orchards. Parents and legal guardians are responsible for transportation to and from all programs and events. Review the Program Rules and Teen Consent Forms.

Rhode Island law requires any person with reasonable cause to know or suspect child abuse or neglect to report that information to the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families within 24 hours. Reports may be made to the Rhode Island DCYF Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-RI-CHILD (1-800-742-4453). Call 911 if a child is in immediate danger. G.O.T. Orchards cannot promise confidentiality when disclosure is required to protect a child or comply with law.

4. Applications, participation, mentors, and volunteers

Submitting an interest or registration form does not guarantee admission, placement, a mentor or volunteer role, an accommodation, a schedule, entry to a capacity-limited event, or continued participation. Participation may require a conversation, eligibility review, consent, screening, orientation, training, supervision, and written approval.

Mentor and volunteer roles are unpaid and strictly voluntary. They do not create an employment relationship or an entitlement to wages, compensation, benefits, or future employment. A volunteer may stop volunteering at any time, and G.O.T. Orchards may change, pause, or end a role or assignment based on program needs, safety, attendance, conduct, suitability, or other lawful considerations. Any continuing confidentiality, safety, property-return, or record-protection responsibilities remain in effect after the volunteer role ends.

5. Online forms, minors, and sensitive information

This website may be viewed by people of different ages. Children under 13 should not directly submit names, contact information, photographs, recordings, creative work, or other personal information. A parent or legal guardian should contact G.O.T. Orchards on the child’s behalf. Teens ages 13 through 17 may submit a limited general inquiry, but parent or legal guardian involvement and consent are required for program registration, health or emergency information, releases, and other formal participation.

Use general website forms only for introductory information. Do not submit Social Security numbers, account passwords, complete medical records, background-check records, identification documents, payment-card details, signed consent forms, or detailed emergency information through the general Contact form.

Required records—including signed participation or consent forms, youth assent, emergency-contact or authorized-release information, and minimum necessary accommodation or safety information—must be handled privately through a method approved by G.O.T. Orchards after initial contact. Do not send these records through public forms or ordinary email. Website information submitted online is handled under the Privacy Policy.

6. Events, food, outdoor activities, and media

Event pages identify the date, location, capacity, participation requirements, and activities that apply to each event. Participants must follow staff and venue instructions, respect personal space, use materials as directed, and avoid unsafe or disruptive behavior. G.O.T. Orchards may pause or end participation when conduct creates a safety risk, seriously disrupts an activity, or violates program rules, while considering reasonable accommodations and applicable law.

All G.O.T. Orchards programs and events are smoke-free and drug-free.

Illness and attendance. Parents, guardians, teens, volunteers, and other participants are asked not to attend when they have a fever or symptoms of a potentially contagious illness. They may return when their symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours and they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.

When food or sweets are offered, participants and parents or guardians are responsible for determining whether an item is appropriate in light of allergies, dietary restrictions, swallowing ability, and choking risk. An event cannot be guaranteed to be allergen-free. Outdoor or nature-based activities may involve plants, soil, insects, bites or stings, weather, uneven surfaces, tools, and other ordinary environmental conditions. Review the Safety & Legal Notice for additional guidance.

Attendance does not by itself authorize publication of an identifiable participant’s photograph, video, audio, poetry, artwork, story, or other creative work. G.O.T. Orchards will use the applicable permission and consent process, including parent or legal guardian permission when the participant is a minor.

7. Donations, sponsorships, recurring gifts, and refunds

Donors may verify the organization’s current federal tax-exempt status through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. A contribution is deductible only to the extent allowed by applicable law and the donor’s circumstances. G.O.T. Orchards does not provide tax advice.

For a single contribution of $250 or more, a donor must obtain a contemporaneous written acknowledgment containing the information required to substantiate the contribution. G.O.T. Orchards will provide an appropriate acknowledgment for qualifying contributions. If a payment of more than $75 is partly a contribution and partly for goods or services, the written disclosure will explain that the deductible amount is limited to the amount exceeding the fair-market value of the benefit and will provide a good-faith estimate of that value. See Donor Information & Receipts.

When online payment processing is available, GiveWP administers donation forms and Stripe processes electronic payments. Never send card or bank details through the general Contact form or ordinary email.

Donation refunds. Donations are generally final. G.O.T. Orchards will review a written refund request received within 30 calendar days of the original charge when a donation was duplicated, entered for the wrong amount, made without the payment-method holder’s authorization, or affected by another documented processing error. Do not include complete card or bank-account numbers. Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method, and any donation acknowledgment will be corrected or canceled as appropriate.

Recurring donations. A donor may request cancellation of future recurring charges through any available donor-management tools or by contacting G.O.T. Orchards at Generations_of_Threads@outlook.com or 401-345-6969. Cancellation applies to future charges and does not automatically refund contributions already processed. G.O.T. Orchards may verify the donor and transaction before changing a recurring gift.

To the extent applicable, G.O.T. Orchards will make its exemption application, determination letter, and required annual information returns available for public inspection as required by law. Donor names and addresses will not be published except when legally required.

8. Copyright, brand, and creative submissions

Unless otherwise identified, original website text, graphics, photographs, designs, training resources, forms, and other materials are owned by or licensed to G.O.T. Orchards and are protected by applicable copyright and other laws. G.O.T. Orchards, Generations of Threads, and related logos and program identifiers are claimed brand identifiers; no federal trademark registration is represented by this notice.

You may view, print, or download publicly available materials for personal, educational, or authorized program use. You may not falsely claim authorship, remove ownership notices, sell or license the materials, imply endorsement or affiliation, use the brand confusingly, or reproduce substantial materials for commercial or fundraising purposes without written permission.

Participants retain rights in their original poetry, stories, artwork, and other creative work unless a separate written agreement states otherwise. A general inquiry does not transfer ownership. Do not send a minor’s creative work, recording, photograph, or identifying information through the general Contact form. Publication requires the applicable permissions and safeguards described on the G.O.T. Poetry and consent pages.

Do not submit unlawful, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, infringing, deceptive, malicious, or privacy-violating material.

9. Accessibility and accommodations

G.O.T. Orchards aims to provide accessible information and meaningful participation. Accessibility is an ongoing practice, and individual needs vary. To report a barrier or request reasonable assistance, visit the Accessibility Statement or request accessibility support.

Requests are considered individually in relation to the activity, site, timing, safety, and available resources. G.O.T. Orchards will discuss feasible, effective options and does not require a participant to disclose more information than is reasonably necessary to evaluate the request.

10. Third-party services, partner venues, and links

The website may link to independent payment processors, government agencies, partners, educational resources, social platforms, or other services. G.O.T. Orchards does not control their content, privacy, accessibility, security, or availability. A link does not necessarily mean endorsement.

Identifying a library, community facility, or other location as an event venue does not by itself make that venue the program operator, childcare provider, sponsor, or guarantor. Any partner role will be described accurately on the applicable event or program page.

11. Prohibited website use

• Attempting unauthorized access, interference, scraping that disrupts service, or distribution of malicious code;
• Using forms for spam, fraud, impersonation, harassment, or unlawful activity;
• Collecting or exposing another person’s private information without permission;
• Misrepresenting affiliation with G.O.T. Orchards or using the organization’s identity to solicit funds without authorization; or
• Using website content in a way that infringes copyright, brand rights, privacy, safety, or other legal rights.

12. Disclaimers and limitation of responsibility

The website is provided on an “as available” basis to the fullest extent permitted by law. G.O.T. Orchards works to keep information accurate and accessible but does not promise uninterrupted access or that every item will always be error-free or current. Programs, schedules, activities, locations, partnerships, fundraising plans, and availability may change.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, G.O.T. Orchards is not responsible for indirect or consequential loss arising solely from website use, independent third-party services, or reliance on general website information. Nothing in these Terms waives rights or responsibilities that cannot legally be waived, excuses a failure to use reasonable care, or replaces a signed program-specific agreement.

13. Governing law

These Terms are governed by applicable federal law and the laws of the State of Rhode Island. Nothing in these Terms limits any right, protection, or responsibility that cannot legally be limited. Applicable law controls if it conflicts with these Terms. A signed program-specific agreement controls over these general website Terms only for the program or activity it covers and only to the extent permitted by law.