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Dear Friends and Community Residents –
The time to designate recipients of the National Capital Area Combined Federal Campaign is fast approaching! I wanted to let you know about the Shaw EcoVillage Project, a 501 © 3 non-profit organization based in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC (CFC #7606).
The mission of the Shaw EcoVillage Project (SEV) is to train at-risk youth to be catalysts for sustainable change in Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. SEV operates of two programs to accomplish this, the EcoDesign Corps and Chain Reaction.
The EcoDesign Corps is a paid internship for high-school students that teaches basic concepts of sustainable community development. Interns work in teams with neighborhood partner organizations to address a particular problem affecting the Shaw neighborhood. The program’s specific content areas are public art; the design disciplines, including design thinking and technical skills associated with presentation; local and neighborhood history; and research, writing and public speaking skills needed to assemble and present the projects. Participants concentrate on six issues including: Clean Air, Land and Water, Community Pride & Identity, Equitable Development, Health and Wellness, Public Space, and Transportation.
Recent summer projects included a community garden grown to benefit low-income clients of Emmaus Services for the Aging and Bread for the City; a bicycle tour of Shaw’s significant historic sites; an advocacy plan for the restoring the historic Howard Theater; a survey of local youth to establish what sort of neighborhood they would like Shaw to be and how young people can directly participate in that process; and designing a rain garden and constructing a shed with a green roof.
Through programs at the Youth Bike Shop, Chain Reaction specifically advocates for sustainable transportation in the Shaw community. The shop trains participants to work as youth mechanics and sales people in the shop, and provides local residents with inexpensive transportation by repairing bikes and selling accessories. Chain Reaction also functions as a recycle-a-bicycle program; all of the bikes we sell are second hand, and we are the only bike shop serving the Shaw community. Students in the programs learn safe riding skills as well as problem-solving, mechanical skills and entrepreneurial skills. Younger students can earn a bicycle for full participation in training programs.
The staff and volunteers of the Shaw EcoVillage Project rely on the support of people like you to continue serving young people and the Shaw community. We have set a goal of welcoming 100 new supporters to our family during this year’s Combined Federal Campaign, but we can only reach this goal with your help.
Please help us continue our important work by designating Shaw EcoVillage, CFC #7606, as your CFC recipient. If you or your associates would like to learn more about Shaw EcoVillage, please contact the CFC Campaign Representative in your office and ask them to request a presentation, or contact us directly at:
Shaw EcoVillage Project
CFC #7606
1701 6th St., NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202.265.2019
Fax: 202.265.2842
sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net
www.shawecovillage.com
Sincerely,
Noel F. Petrie
Outreach and Development Coordinator