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As the chair of the board of Literacy for Environmental Justice, I am elated and humbled to announce the launch
of our 10th Anniversary Year.
We're looking back on how we've helped bring health and justice to our neighborhood, city, state, and planet:
- Cleaner air with the closure of the PG&E Hunter's Point power plant
- Open space for community recreation and species habitat at Heron's Head Park--converting
a dumpsite into
a vibrant
wetlands
- Healthy food with the conversion of convenience stores to greengrocers through our Good
Neighbor
Program--now adopted
statewide!
- Environmental literacy and equitable education for thousands of students all over the
city through our
youth empowerment,
service learning, and teacher training programs.
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We're looking forward to what the next decade will bring:
- A healthier Bay ecosystem, from the tens of thousands of seedlings we are propagating
for the restoration
of the Yosemite
Slough wetlands
- Non-toxic homes and schools, through advocacy for new buffer zone protections separating
industry from
sensitive
populations
- Sustainable urban development, as we monitor the clean-up and conversion of the Hunters
Point Naval
Shipyard and ensure
that the community has a voice at every stage of the process.
- A green beacon in southeast San Francisco--the Living Classroom will open this year, a
landmark
environmental education
facility that will be the city's first totally "off-grid" building.
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Throughout it all, LEJ is creating a new generation of leadership.
We're mentoring youth from Bayview Hunters Point to take their place at
the
head of the environmental justice movement:
- Nancy Abdul-Shakur, who joined LEJ at the age of 14 as one of our
first interns, is now our environmental health and
justice program manager. She is currently a Fellow in the California
Women's Foundation Women's Policy Institute, shaping and implementing
statewide policies affecting environmental health.
- Tony Marks-Block left LEJ to attend Cornell University, where he majored in
environmental studies; he
currently runs an
environmental education program for the Richmond School District.
- Tanisha Gooch is a student at DePaul University in Chicago. She plans to bring all of
her knowledge home
when she
graduates, saying, "That's what college is for! You learn, then you give back!"
- Jocquay Thomas, a second-year LEJ intern, is a full member of the
Restoration Advisory Board for the Hunters Point
Shipyard, a Superfund site and the most seriously contaminated military
base on San Francisco Bay. At 18, Jocquay is possibly the youngest RAB
member in the country.
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We couldn't have come this far without our supporters, and I hope you
can see why it's more important than ever that you are a part of the
LEJ
community. A donation to LEJ is an investment in a healthy and just
future. Your gift supports all of our programs -- environmental
health and justice, food security, conservation and restoration -- as
well as the Living Classroom.
Please help us launch our second decade by making a generous contribution today.
You can send us a donation online or you can send a check to us at:
Literacy for Environmental Justice
800 Innes Ave. #11
San Francisco CA 94124
Donations to LEJ are tax-deductible, and we do not share our mailing list outside the organization.
Thank you for your inspiration, your commitment, and your support.
Milton Reynolds
Chair, Literacy for Environmental Justice
P.S. LEJ takes pride in being a truly grassroots organization.
Everyone's contribution is needed and appreciated. Please make your
gift today.
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Founded in 1998, Literacy for Environmental Justice addresses the
ecological and health concerns of Bayview Hunters Point and the
surrounding
communities of southeast San Francisco. Our mission is to foster an
understanding of the principles of environmental justice and urban
sustainability in our young people in order to promote the long-term
health of our communities.
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