PAIPL Annual Bike / Hike

03/04/2024

We are thrilled to introduce Abi, the fourth member of the Spring ‘24 cohort! Abi is a junior at West Chester University as an Urban & Environmental Planning major. Her love for organizing started at a young age, she enjoys talking to people about what change they want to see in the world and how they can accomplish it. Abi believes that there are many intersections within climate work that are extremely valuable and deserve to be represented and believes that PA IPL does just that. She loves to read theory, thrift with friends, work out and be involved on campus through clubs!

03/04/2024

Today, we’re happy to introduce the third member of the Spring ‘24 cohort. Sparrow is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Communication, English, & Anthropology. They have a passion for community care, and have experience with organizing for environmental justice with Fossil Free Penn. They love to learn, especially about different kinds of justice, and building a better world. Their hobbies include reading, filmmaking, and taking care of their service dog, Skippy!

03/01/2024

illusion that we are separate from the Earth, from other species and from one another, and discover instead Right View (of relationship) from which flows all Right Thoughts & Right Actions to heal our precious planet.” Bring your lunch and questions - can’t wait to see you there!

02/28/2024

We’re excited to introduce the second of four fellows in our Spring ‘24 Cohort. Kiana is a student at Temple University studying Environmental Engineering. Her passion for environmental advocacy comes from being born and raised in Tehran, Iran where the environmental conditions affect the health and daily life of its citizens. Currently she is one of the co-coordinators of Temple Climate Action, a fossil fuel divestment campaign at Temple. Kiana is looking forward to learning from and supporting PA IPL’s mission!

02/28/2024

We are delighted to introduce PA IPL’s Spring ‘24 cohort of fellows! Dana is a third-year student at Marywood University pursuing her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN). She is excited to be participating in conservation focused action against climate change and believes we can all do something to ensure a great future for humanity and the Earth. Some of her hobbies include writing, taking walks, being a bookworm, and cooking her favorite meals.

02/27/2024

02/24/2024

Join us for a lunchtime conversation on Thursday March 14th 12pm as we learn alongside our friends Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light through the ongoing Religion & Environment series.

In this month’s conversation, we are exploring the Buddhist tradition. Bhante Pema of Pittsburgh Buddhist Center will share a short presentation titled, “Caring for All Life: How to recognize the value of all forms of lives and the greater responsibility of human beings for the wellbeing of whole ecosystem.” George Hoguet of Earth Holder Community and the Order of Inter being will share reflections on “The Way Out Is In: When we stop, go into our inner stillness and look deeply, we can awaken to the reality of Inter being, awaken beyond environmentalism and the illusion that we are separate from the Earth, from other species and from one another, and discover instead Right View (of relationship) from which flows all Right Thoughts & Right Actions to heal our precious planet.” Bring your lunch and your questions - we can’t wait to see you there!

Register NOW: https://buff.ly/4bMQGbW

Our series co-sponsors are: Better Path Coalition, Delaware Interfaith Power & Light, & Green Muslims. Our special sponsors for this conversation are Pittsburgh Buddhist Center and Earth Holder Community

02/20/2024

We’ve been sharing a lot of wins here recently, but life isn’t always easy! In not-so-great-news, we received a notice from one of our primary funders for 2024 earlier this month letting us know that they will be decreasing our 2024 funding by $40,000 😓

After careful restructuring of our budget for the year, we are remarkably just $10,000 short of our needs 😲 This amount seems possible to us, and so we are turning to you, our faithful supporters who believe in our ability to create new worlds, together. Would you consider giving to help us meet this urgent need? ✨

We have a very specific fundraising goal. We are dreaming of 100 new donors who would each commit to $8.50/month for 12 months. We know that you’re probably tired of seeing asks for money in your inbox and feeds - we are too. However, we know that the strength of our movement lies in our collective numbers. And if we all give a little, together we grow powerful movements for change! 🌲

Maybe you can give more (and we hope you will!), maybe you can’t give but you can share this with a friend, maybe you can’t give money but you’d be willing to volunteer your time with us (DM us already!). We need every single one of us as we work to build a powerful interfaith community responding to climate change 💪

Check out the final slide for a graphic you can share to your story or page with the prompt, “I’m supporting…” to tell us what you’re dreaming of and how you intend to support the interfaith climate movement this year! 🙌

You know where to go - link in bio!

02/16/2024

Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities have historically been, and continue to be disproportionately impacted by pollution and other forms of environmental degradation. With this in mind, President Biden created the Justice40 Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to ensure 40% of overall benefits of Federal investments will go to communities who are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.

How do you check if your community is eligible to receive funding?

The government created a Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CJEST), which tells you what burdens your community faces and if you could be eligible to receive funding.
If you do not know where to start, the regional Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC) is available to support you in connecting with potential partners in local governments or other groups who have experience in acquiring these funds.

Please help us in spreading the word about this opportunity!

Refer to this link to access CJEST: https://buff.ly/3I2nQ9R

Check out this article from CCF for more details: https://buff.ly/3I2nQ9R

02/14/2024

Today, we are pleased to introduce our final new Board Member, Vanessa Lowe! She will be joining the team as our incoming treasurer.

She is a trustee for the Valentine Foundation, an investment committee member for the Unitarian Universalist Common Endowment Fund, and a steering committee member for the City of Philadelphia Reparations Campaign. She hosts Vanessa’s Money Hour talk show and podcast on G-Town Radio, and leads VLL Consulting and Financial Education. She has an MBA from the Wharton School and recently achieved the Chartered Financial Counselor (ChFC©) designation.

Join us in welcoming Vanessa Lowe to the network!

02/12/2024

We are delighted to introduce the first of three new Board Members to our network! All three were voted on at our Business Meeting back in January and each brings extensive experience to the PA IPL Board of Directors in their various fields of expertise.

Minister Chavis, originally from the Washington, DC area, moved to Lancaster in 2021. However, her ties to Pennsylvania go much deeper as Pittsburgh was home to her parents, grandparents, and other relatives. She brings with her years of C-Suite corporate experience and is thrilled to continue efforts in green and sustainable systems. As Dr. Martin Luther King quipped “all life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of identity. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” We don’t care for creation – we are creation. Working with PA IPL affords her the ability to support, coordinate, and develop projects that can help us all create a brighter, more sustainable future.

Join us in welcoming Stacy Chavis to the network!

02/10/2024

Team celebration! 💚💙💛

Renika has been with the team for over a year now, but is coming into a new role this year as the Advocacy and Outreach Manager! In this role, she will be leading our civic engagement and advocacy work across the state.

Renika shares that she is from an interfaith family, and has, “...been excited about interfaith interaction and dialogue since I was very young - even before I knew the word interfaith!”

PA IPL is lucky to have such a passionate organizer working with us as we help to create an interfaith network of climate care!