Mission

Sierra Club Mission Statement

To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth;
To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources;
To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

Loma Prieta Chapter Vision Statement

The Loma Prieta Chapter’s vision is that we will enthusiastically support and advance the Sierra Club’s mission to enjoy, explore and protect the planet within our local communities and spheres of influence.  We believe the Sierra Club, through its grassroots nature, is an important and effective environmental advocate.  We intend to build the influence and impact of the Loma Prieta Chapter to demonstrate how local activism and action can protect our natural environment and affect and influence the way our cities and counties grow.  

We will accomplish this through enlightened and dedicated leadership at the chapter level that will assure the chapter is accomplishing its overarching goals and functions

We acknowledge the chapter’s impact and effectiveness depends on an educated, engaged and well-trained corps of activists and leaders who are committed to our fundamental principles, therefore, we are committed to:

• Educate our local communities and engage them in helping achieve Sierra Club objectives,
• Reach out to our local communities to encourage new memberships, including segments of the population which will help us diversify our membership to better represent our communities,
• Provide strong Volunteer Development programs designed to create an ever increasing flow of involved activists moving up the ladder of engagement,
• Provide Leader Development training to continuously build new leaders and reengage prior ones,
• Promote cross-pollination and communication between the many teams, committees, and other internal groups of the Chapter to build cohesiveness and camaraderie,
• Establish an identity in our local communities as a responsible and respected partner and leader,
• Provide funding to support the staff and other expenses necessary to effectively drive our programs.

Our outreach and effective participation and engagement is primarily through the Conservation Committee, Political Organization, and Outings Program.  Our goals for each of these important chapter functions are is as follows:

Conservation Organization 

Understanding the myriad problems posed to the natural environment by our modern day society and developing solutions to them is a key responsibility of the Chapter’s Conservation organization, which will be met through:

1. Developing well thought-out positions on issues that arise, and promoting those positions through internal and external channels to those who can make a difference,
2. Developing and promoting positive changes that can make a difference to our natural world,
3. Proactively identifying natural constraints and/or trends that will impact our environment in the future, and presenting solutions for action before a crisis develops,
4. Identifying the appropriate channels of communication and developing the collaborative relationships that will enable us to raise awareness about the relevant issues among the membership and the general public.

 Political Committee

Acknowledging that strength and influence in political arenas is a necessary ingredient to accomplishing our protection goal, we strive for a political organization that:

1. Endorses and helps elect candidates who share our vision and ideals,
2. Has established relationships with policy makers which enables us to influence their decisions and hear their concerns,
3. Markets our message and positions effectively to our communities in support of achieving our goals and creating a better informed membership,
4. Creates a political environment that influences politicians and facilitates positive outcomes.

Outings Program 

Recognizing that outings are a prime way of experiencing the environment we want to protect, and attracting and developing new activists to help protect it, we will promote a vigorous outings program by:

1. Enthusiastically offering a wide variety of outings, for diverse abilities, interests and ages.  
2. Offering environmental educational and conservation outings as a means of promoting conservation awareness and encouraging environmental activism.
3. Reaching out to those who are new to outdoors activities, or come from diverse backgrounds, encouraging and welcoming them to participate in our outings program and become members of the Sierra Club
4. Actively recruiting, training and retaining outings leaders to assure we have a full capacity of well-trained leaders to sustain our outings program.