By Tracy Daniels
In honor of Juneteenth 2021, which has special significance as the first year that Juneteenth has been designated as a federal holiday, the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter has made several donations on the Group level to organizations around the state. The donations are as follows:
Allegheny Group made a donation to Outdoor Afro - Pittsburgh, a local chapter of the national organization which is supported by the Sierra Club.
"Each month, Outdoor Afro hosts several events that are focused on providing opportunities for participants to get outdoors. From hikes in Pittsburgh parks to camping, Outdoor Afro creates opportunities to help participants enjoy the great outdoors."
Governor Pinchot Group is donating $100 to the NAACP of Greater Harrisburg.
Southeast PA Group decided to award four $100 donations from SPG, plus one awardee would get an extra $100 from PA Chapter. The double award winner is Brandi Aulstom of Hike & Heal. This year will be her second organizing a Juneteenth silent hike/protest event. You can read more about Brandi and her organizing here: https://phl17.com/phl17-morning-news/hike-and-heal-helping-woman-connect-with-nature/
Moshannon Group made a donation to the Sunrise Movement as participation in the Chapter's Juneteenth support. The Sunrise Movement is a nationwide, youth-led organization, with over 400 hubs across the country. Their mission focus includes fighting for climate justice and the Green New Deal, with the subsequent creation of millions of new jobs in the US. Their platform states that 'climate justice means there is clean air and clean water for everyone.' The local State College group began operating in 2019. They believe that action is needed to address the ongoing injustices associated with climate change. The Sunrise Movement is active in town hall meetings, organizing climate strikes, and supporting progressive climate justice political candidates. On a local level, one of their biggest issues is Penn State's continued investment and endorsement of fossil fuel companies, an issue that the Moshannon Group has addressed also. We have worked cooperatively with the State College group, which is led by a woman of color. Most recently, we supported their 2021 Earth Day Action, but have also collaborated with them on several Ready for 100 meetings, and an extremely successful 2020 presentation by Dr. Mark Sentesy on the 'Intersectionality of Race, Health and Climate.' It's interesting to note that the national organization began in 2013 in office space provided by the Sierra Club. Their goal was to draft a plan for climate action, and they continue to organize various climate-related events, deserving of our financial support and participation.
Lake Erie donated to three environmentally-based organizations:
Butterflies for Kids Program - their mission is to provide a portable program bringing critical current educational environmental content for Pre-K thru 3 + delivered through entertainment at large events, and through media (i.e. television, Youtube). Their goal is to bring awareness to children of their partnership with their planet, and how to become it's important partner through conservation. (https://www.facebook.com/Butterflies-For-Kids-140967949265229)
ReLeaf - As a strategic initiative of the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park (LEAF), ReLeaf will educate, inspire and empower residents of Northwest Pennsylvania to positively impact the threat of climate change by planting trees in Erie County (https://www.releaferie.org/)
Plant-It-Forward - Their mission is to promote a larger, healthier best practices green infrastructure urban forest as part of the urban ecosystem, through community planting, maintenance, education and advocacy. (https://www.facebook.com/reforestationmovement/)