Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • “We Are Not Lost Causes”

    In Rochester, NY, the Center for Teen Empowerment, a nonprofit that trains youth in community organizing, personal development, and anti-violence, is working to bring kids off the street and into safety. The program, which started in Boston, is centered on four ideas: jobs (paying the youth hired as organizers), teamwork, agency (letting them build their own activist agendas), and peer influence. While hard to evaluate because of its situational, qualitative nature, city officials, including law enforcement, point to the program as a factor in the decrease in violence across the city.

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  • The Beautiful Place that Stopped Big Bottled Water

    Washington State could pass one of the toughest restrictions on water bottling operations in the United States, thanks to activists who raised environmental concerns over a bottling facility that wanted to open in a town. Their advocacy is modeled after a similar legal fight in Oregon, where environmentalists, Native American tribes, and labor unions came together behind the campaign. Their success could provide a plan for similar efforts in other communities.

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  • Meet the Latinos Trying to Get Latinos to the Polls

    The Democratic Party consistently struggles to turn out the Latinx vote, which is projected to be 32 million people. Instead of trying to find a cohesive message for this incredibly diverse group of people like in the past, Democratic candidates this year are letting Latinx people lead engagement in their own communities.

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  • The birth of a movement: how activists are winning the battle to make abortion a right

    In a country with a history of strong religious opposition to abortion, Argentinian pro-choice activists have begun to shift the political landscape around reproductive rights by leveraging young organizers, diversifying their movement, using technology to share information and support, and building visible solidarity through "green" symbolism. To bring Catholics into the effort, organizers emphasize the public health risks of keeping abortion illegal, a rhetoric that has led to government changes such as the creation of a ministry of women, gender and diversity that includes pro-choice activists.

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  • Volunteers are gathering to clean up public areas in Brisbane

    While environmentalists continue to call for drastic measures to combat climate change, a Brisbane volunteer community has taken matters into its own hands by organizing weekly beach clean-up sessions. The group uses social media to organize and has recycled or thrown away more than 330kg of litter.

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  • Giving the Gift of Mobility in a City Locked Down by Coronavirus

    Thousands of people in Wuhan, China are volunteering to buy groceries, get medicine, and take community members to the hospital as a means to help those that need it during the coronavirus outbreak. Although the volunteers do not knowingly transport anyone diagnosed with coronavirus, the drivers wear protective clothing during their drives, which are organized by local neighborhood committees.

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  • Mountain athletes push progress over perfection in climate fight

    Since 2007, Protect Our Winters (POW) has engaged outdoor athletes to advocate for climate change. They believe in “imperfect advocacy,” in which they focus on corporate polluters whose habits can create larger-scale change, rather than putting the impetus for change solely on individuals. In doing so, they have been able to successfully engage athletes in their mission, build a partnership with the Climate Action Corps, a coalition of outdoor outfitters working for change at a corporate-level, and host rallies to sway public officials.

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  • ‘IKEA, but for Parks' Project Streamlines Community Green Space Development

    Vacant lots in the city are being greened with an idea dubbed “IKEA, but for parks” which provides preassembled options to create parks in vacant lots. Community members are given layout and design options to choose from based on how the neighborhood decides to utilize their empty lots. Residents are then provided with supplies and training to build and maintain a public green space. The model allows for efficiency and speed while promoting civic participation.

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  • Soulardarity: A community's success in energy democracy

    After DTE Energy removed streetlights from Highland Park, Michigan when utility bills went unpaid, local residents teamed up to form Soulardarity, a community-owned organization that installs solar-powered street lights throughout the city. The lights are more cost-effective, but beyond that, Soulardarity offers a platform for residents to join the environmental justice movement in advocating for more clean energy options for their neighborhoods and at scale.

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  • A Vision for a Just recovery - La Marana's work Post Hurricane Maria

    La Maraña, a nonprofit in Puerto Rico, created a model for how communities could recover from disasters like the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. By including community voices in the design and planning process of recovery projects — which can focus on water, food, energy, roads, communication, or security — the organization hopes the projects are more likely to succeed and promote longterm community civic engagement.

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