[ACT!] help me and grand aspirations raise $50,000 to empower youth in the green economy!
Ethan Buckner
Dear friend,
Over the past few years, I have become deeply involved in the national leadership team of Grand Aspirations, an emerging non-profit which supports innovative solutions to issues of economic and environmental justice, as a means of revitalizing the economy and creating strong communities. I would like to draw on your support to help Grand Aspirations win $50,000 in the Pepsi Refresh online voting competition.
Sign-up now to support next year’s SoS programs by voting daily in November for a grant for Grand Aspirations: http://bit.ly/a2f5jM.
So what does this grant mean for me?
We have entered into the Pepsi Refresh Everything competition to raise money specifically for Summer of Solutions (SOS), a program which trains youth to work with their communities to creatively pursue social and environmental justice through innovative projects that create sustainable opportunity. Some examples include initiatives to grow affordable, local food, create jobs through neighborhood weatherization and community-based energy, improve access to sustainable transit, develop green industry centers, and many others. As a participant in the Twin Cities SOS program in 2008 and 2010, I can attest to the transformative potential of the program. Working with peers from around the country, I've been challenged to explore my role as a young person coming of age amidst interconnected economic, ecological, and social crises, and harness my energy towards pursuing innovative community-based solutions that foster personal growth, create opportunity, and build community. It's been an amazing journey for me thus far, and this summer I am planning to take what I've learned and co-lead a Summer of Solutions program in Oakland, California; a vibrant community with enormous potential that has faced great challenges. The Pepsi Refresh Grant will enable me- and countless other leaders around the country- to engage hundreds of young people from all socio-economic backgrounds in an opportunity to grow, learn, and create this summer.
You may recall a similar email sent a few months back asking for online votes to help Cooperative Energy Futures (CEF) secure a $5,000 grant to support community energy efficiency in South Minneapolis. With your support, we won that grant and have been able to successfully implement our project! The organization that made CEF possible- and one that has supported my personal growth and development in recent years- is Grand Aspirations!
Understandably, many of us feel like we are unable to donate to all causes we want to support. In light of this, I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to support a really phenomenal organization, just by spending 2 minutes every day in November voting for Grand Aspirations. With just the click of your mouse, you can help GA to expand the scale of our work empowering youth to build the green economy!
Summer of Solutions has experienced a large degree of success in many areas of our organizational and programmatic development. Despite these successes, we have yet to reach a scale of funding that enables us to support program leaders and participants from a variety of economic backgrounds. Therefore, we could really use your support in voting for us to win $50,000!
To learn more about Grand Aspirations and the Summer of Solutions, visit our website at www.grandaspirations.org or toss me an email- I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have!
We have joined with a group of organizations called the Progressive Slate to compete jointly for grants. Each voter in the competition can vote for up to 10 projects each day in November, so you can sign up with the Progressive Slate to vote for all the organizations in the alliance with one easy step. The Progressive Slate has already raised over 550,000 dollars for progressive organizations by working together in voting competitions like this one! You can cast your vote by text, on Facebook, and on the Refresh Everything website. This means that you can vote 90 times in November!
To check out the other organizations in the Progressive Slate & sign up for daily reminders to vote by all 3 methods, please go to: http://bit.ly/a2f5jM.
Thank you so much for your continued support, and I look forward to continuing to connect with you. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns- or just to catch up :)
With love,
Ethan
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Ethan Buckner
Youth Organizer
Sierra Student Coalition -- www.ssc.org
Vassar College Class of 2013
612-718-3847
ethanb...@gmail.com
etbu...@vassar.edu