By Colin Teague – 11/28/23
Six Philadelphia-Area Organizations to Donate to for Giving Tuesday
Happy Giving Tuesday! As a Philadelphia-based cooperative, The Energy Co-op works closely with other locally-based organizations that work hard to fight climate change, make our communities healthier and more sustainable, and educate citizens about the environment. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are some local sustainability-focused organizations that we hope you will consider donating to:
Clean Air Council
Clean Air Council is a member-supported, environmental health advocacy organization serving the Mid-Atlantic Region and working to address climate change. Founded in 1967, the Council is dedicated to protecting and defending everyone’s right to a healthy environment. The Council works through a broad array of related sustainability and public health initiatives, using public education, community action, government oversight, and enforcement of environmental laws.
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Tree Tenders Program
Planting trees is a powerful way to enhance the health and well-being of neighborhoods. PHS’s Tree Tenders program works with volunteer-based community groups to plant trees. The program provides workshops in tree planting and care and volunteer group organization. PHS has trained more than 6,500 people who have gone on to lead volunteers in planting over 3,000 trees each year.
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
Founded in 1965, the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education is one of the first urban environmental education centers in the country. The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education inspires meaningful connections between people and nature, working through four core program areas: environmental education, environmental art, land stewardship, and wildlife rehabilitation.
Share the Sun
Philadelphia Energy Authority’s Share the Sun program enables homeowners and businesses with solar installations to donate their Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) and help low-income families in Philadelphia access solar energy at home. SRECs donated by one family will help a low-income family to go solar! If you don’t have a solar installation, you can still support Share the Sun by donating!
Philly Thrive
Philly Thrive is a multiracial cross-class grassroots community environmental and climate justice movement, whose core constituency is Black low-income and working-class residents. Their organizing is rooted in South Philadelphia, principally the Grays Ferry neighborhood, formerly home to the largest oil refinery on the East Coast, which poisoned generations of Black residents from the 1860s until they won its permanent closure in 2020. Philly Thrive works to repair 154 years of violence that the South Philadelphia Refinery inflicted on nearby residents by achieving a complete clean-up of the land, investment in surrounding neighborhoods, and a permanent seat at the table for residents most impacted by the refinery.
Energy Coordinating Agency
Founded in 1984, the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) creates lasting solutions to the energy problems of low-income Philadelphians. ECA coordinates low-income energy services, and administers high quality energy conservation, education, heating, and home repair services to reduce households’ energy costs and stabilize families in their communities.