be the E: Get Involved

Did you know?

62.8 million Americans volunteered in the last year. Volunteering is associated with reduced mortality, reduced depression, and a greater sense of well-being. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

There are more than 1.5 million non-profits of various types in the United States, to fit any cause or interest. (National Center for Charitable Statistics)

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Meade

Be Informed!

The first step to getting involved is simply to be informed about current issues. Read the newspaper, sign-up for email listservs, or keep up with current events online. Visit sites like these:

www.alternet.org/environment

www.nytimes.com

Volunteering

Getting involved can mean donating time, talents, and resources. Any cause or movement can always use the additional power of your help. Need some motivation to volunteer? Find yours at http://www.serviceleader.org/volunteers/why Some options are below, but there are many more opportunities and ways to get involved!

Take Action!

Locally – Neighborhood

Get involved in your neighborhood. Learn about local environmental issues and get to know your neighbors.

· We ACT for Environmental Justice http://www.weact.org

· North Shore Waterfront Conservancy of Staten Island, Inc. http://www.nswcsi.org

· Sustainable South Bronx http://www.ssbx.org

· Central Queens Greening Initiative http://www.centralqueensy.org/the-cqy-goes-green

· Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance http://www.waterfrontalliance.org

· Green Fort Greene http://www.greenfgch.org

· Sustainable Flatbush www.sustainableflatbush.org

· Bushwick Green Team http://bushwickgreenteam.blogspot.com

· Brooklyn Green Team http://brooklyngreenteam.blogspot.com

. Lower East Side Ecology Center http://www.lesecologycenter.org

Locally - City-wide

Donate your time, talents, money or name by signing petitions and learn about local environmental issues.

· Become an Earth Day Ambassador: http://earthdayny.org/programs/ed-ambassador

· New York Cares is the city's largest volunteer organization, running volunteer programs for 1,200 nonprofits, city agencies and public schools: http://newyorkcares.org

· Sierra Club’s New York City chapter: http://www.nyc.sierraclub.org

· Frack Action, protecting New York’s water: http://frackaction.com

· Green Edge is a social network that connects people with businesses, organizations and the resources they need to build a sustainable future by hosting city-wide and neighborhood events through this online network: http://greenedge.ning.com

· Green Drinks hosts monthly networking events to connect and unite the environmental community of New York City: http://www.greendrinksnyc.com

· Volunteer opportunities for residents of New York City:http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.46da1f71061c92f6a62fa24601c789a0:

· SOSNYC is a movement to remove Styrofoam trays from NYC public schools: http://sosnyc.org

Get to know your representatives and vote.

· Register to vote:http://vote.nyc.ny.us

· League of Conservation Voters: http://www.lcv.org

· Find out who your representatives are: http://hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5950/getLocal.jsp

Nationally and Globally

Learn about national environmental issues. Join listservs to get current information.

· Greenpeace is leading independent organization that uses peaceful direct action and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en

· Repower America stands for the importance of investing in energy efficiency; clean, renewable and diversified energy sources; a unified national smart energy grid that connects these renewable energy sources to every part of the country; and clean car technology: http://repoweramerica.org

· Friends of the Earth's current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them: http://www.foe.org

· Food and Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume are safe, accessible and sustainably produced: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org

· Environmental Defense Action Fund: http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=573

· Earth Justice is a non-profit, public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the natural places and wildlife and defending the right of all people to live in a healthy environment: http://earthjustice.org

· Energy Action Coalition is a leading organization in youth climate movement: http://energyactioncoalition.org

· Center for Environmental Health protects children and families by reducing the industrial use of toxic chemicals: http://www.ceh.org

· Rainforest Action Network uses hard-hitting campaigns to align the policies of multinational corporations with widespread public support for environmental protection: http://ran.org

· Amazon Watch is a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to protect the rainforest and advance indigenous and environmental issues through campaigns for the preservation of the Amazon's ecological systems: www.amazonwatch.org

Get to know your state representatives and vote:

· http://www.elections.state.ny.us

· http://hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5950/getLocal.jsp

Start your own campaign or petition:

· http://www.change.org