Dion Dawson of Dion’s Chicago Dream is developing innovative ways to ensure all people have the healthy food they need to thrive. Story & Reach was proud to work with MatchPoint Studios to produce this video about Dion’s latest innovation: the Dream Vault.
Read MoreIn a small, majority Black town in Mississippi, residents are sounding the alarm on Drax – the owner of a local wood-pellet plant – for exposing them to dangerous levels of air pollution.
The Drax factory has been fined for exceeding its air-pollution permits, but still received federal subsidies to build more wood-pellet plants across the South.
Despite claims that burning wood pellets for power is climate-friendly, studies show it produces more greenhouse gasses than coal.
Read MoreThe 19th News Exclusive: The Fund for Frontline Power – a groundbreaking new model for climate philanthropy – announces its first $5 million in grants to 48 climate justice organizations across the country. Funding decisions are made by F4FP’s governing body, which is made up of grassroots climate justice leaders. The Solutions Project, the Climate Justice Alliance, and the People’s Climate Innovation Center co-created the fund to accelerate the “solidarity philanthropy” movement, where funders work in solidarity with grassroots leaders rather than making top-down decisions. The fund is supported by environmental foundations, big green groups, the sports industry, and the company Seventh Generation.
Read MoreFor the Chicago Ukraine (c Ukraine) cultural showcase, ShoCo Chicago member Oksana Ambroz-Trychta has re-released her beautiful, handcrafted collections of decorative pillows & dolls, & will donate all proceeds to Ukrainian shelters housing orphans & mothers in need.
Read MoreFunded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Berkeley Lab's IMPEL program helps building efficiency start-ups overcome the "commercialization valley of death." The program is the subject of an in-depth article by Commercial Property Executive, a leading publication for commercial real estate professionals.
Read MoreNoria Energy designed Aquasol – South America’s largest floating solar array, at Colombia’s Urrá dam – to show how hydropower and floating solar can work together to generate more energy, more reliably.
Read MoreIn June, Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) signed Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias' first-in-the-nation bill to prevent libraries from banning, removing, or restricting access to books or other materials. We were honored to attend the bill signing and secure the Secretary’s interview with GMA3: What You Need to Know about this historic legislation. “The concept of banning books contradicts the very essence of what our country stands for,” said Secretary Giannoulias. “It also defies what education is all about: teaching our children to think for themselves. This landmark law is a triumph for our democracy, a win for First Amendment Rights, and a great victory for future generations.”
Read MoreDion’s Chicago Dream delivers weekly boxes of healthy fruits and vegetables to households in need. In his Chronicle of Philanthropy opinion piece, founder Dion Dawson calls on food charities to take a fresh approach to tackling food insecurity.
Read MoreFor Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Axios Generate shares this inspiring story about how Molokai residents are reclaiming their energy sovereignty by building a community-owned and -designed clean energy economy.
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A Good Morning America shoot, a White House invitation, and a cover shot of a truly dynamic duo are some of the extraordinary Earth Month events you can read about in our latest newsletter.
Read MoreIn Environment+Energy Leader, Reshma Singh, senior advisor at the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office, explains the opportunities & challenges associated with making buildings the heart of climate action.
Reshma is also the director of Berkeley Lab’s IMPEL & Cradle to Commerce programs, two cutting-edge initiatives designed to accelerate the process of getting important clean technologies to market.
Read MoreWhen Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) passed away, the environmental justice movement lost a powerful champion in the House of Representatives. In Newsweek, renowned environmental justice leaders Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali of the National Wildlife Federation & the Rev. Leo Woodberry of Kingdom Living Temple urge Congress to build on Rep. McEachin’s legacy.
Read MoreDion Dawson is a Chicago native who experienced homelessness & food insecurity both as a child & as a military veteran. Now, he runs a nonprofit – called Dion’s Chicago Dream – that feeds over 600 Chicagoland families in need so they don’t have to go hungry like he did. Watch Dion’s moving story on the TODAY show.
Read MoreFor its 10-year anniversary, we helped the Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) produce materials showcasing its success in working with partners to turn New York state into a national clean energy leader. Along with key partners, AGREE secured passage of the nation’s first utility decarbonization law, decarbonized hundreds of homes, launched the state’s community solar program, and kept utility bill rate hikes in check. To learn more, please see AGREE’s 10-year impact report and brochure.
Read MoreWGN-TV Exclusive: This year, Dion’s Chicago Dream & Digs with Dignity will deliver housing stability & food security for 65 families in need on the South and West Sides. The nonprofits recently served a family in Englewood, with the help of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Read MoreAhead of his meetings at the White House and Capitol Hill, the Reverend Leo Woodberry pens an op-ed for The Hill outlining key ways federal policymakers can advance environmental justice and ensure community-based environmental justice groups have a fair shot at accessing Justice40 Initiative funding.
Read MoreIn an op-ed in the Fresno Bee, the mayor of Huron – one of the poorest communities in California – urges Gov. Newsom and the California Public Utilities Commission to reject changes to the state’s rooftop and community solar net-metering program. The proposed changes would put solar out of reach for many of his constituents, and jeopardize the city’s proposed community solar microgrid and energy storage project.
Read MoreAhead of COP27, environmental justice pastor the Reverend Leo Woodberry explains in Common Dreams that climate justice groups are ushering in a new era of IRON will (Innovation, Resolve, Opportunity, New approaches) to protect disadvantaged communities around the world from the impacts of the climate crisis.
Read MoreAs featured in a Southside Weekly cover story – as well as on TMZ, Fox 32, and Block Club Chicago – the rapper G Herbo is partnering with the nonprofit Dion’s Chicago Dream to address food insecurity throughout his native Chicago. By serving as a brand ambassador and making monthly donations, G Herbo will help the nonprofit raise $500,000 to move the 500 households on its waitlist from food-insecure to food-secure. For every $1,000 the organization raises, it’s able to provide a new household with a 10-pound box of fresh produce every week for a year.
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