Friends, family, colleagues –

The short version: If you care about environmental justice and want to help build healthy communities for low-income residents and people of color, please consider donating or registering to run this 5K with me! Because of COVID, the race is virtual. You can run or walk from wherever you live. Thank you for considering.

The long version: Like many, I spend a lot of time thinking (and agonizing) about the wide and systemic gaps in health, wealth, and opportunity in our country, and believe that they will continue to widen as climate change accelerates. I am very interested in fighting alongside and for low-income communities of color who will be most impacted by higher temperatures and climate catastrophes. WE ACT for Environmental Justice is doing the work! (and has been since 1988)

Over the past 8+ months, I've had the privilege to volunteer with the team and have witnessed and heard stories of the many ways WE ACT ensures that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices.

Much of their work is focused on Northern Manhattan residents but their initiatives and the policies they've helped enact at the state level serve as templates for the rest of the country.

For example, I love that they have trained more than 2,000 Northern Manhattan residents for careers in construction including more than 100 in solar installation. Six of those solar workers started their own co-op and have 2 successful solar installations under their belt! They hold workshops, talks, info sessions, training programs, working groups to ensure their members have the information they need to better their own communities whether it be through voting, advocacy, or activism. They're also thinking about future generations – working hard to make climate science a part of K-12 school curriculums across NY state! That's just to name a few.

If this kind of work resonates with you, or you want to make me smile, please consider making a donation OR registering to run/walk during the week of Earth Day with me! :)

This page should make it easy for you to donate or register to run/walk, but if you have any issues, please reach out.

Thank you for considering and take care.

With lots of love,

Justine