A lot of people see Nevada as a desert wasteland – full of brown sagebrush and dirt.  But at R&D Events, we see our home a bit differently. We see it as a wild and fun adventure of expansive trails, challenging hikes, gorgeous vistas, and a thriving ecosystem of native plants and critters. We need to give back to the Nevada wilderness that has given us recreational sanctuary and personal fulfillment exploring its lands.

To date, R&D Events has donated more than $16k to our partners, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, through 1% for the Planet. We care passionately about keeping Nevada wild and look forward to a thriving partnership beyond the dollars donated by getting our hands dirty through volunteering – always making sure to steer clear of the prickly pear cactus.

To learn more about R&D Events: www.rndevents.com

To lean more about Friends of Nevada Wilderness: www.nevadawilderness.org

Grounds for Change joined the 1% for the Planet community in October of 2003, as member number thirty, and since that time has cultivated long-lasting relationships with numerous nonprofit organizations across the country.

Migratory bird habitat, the health of our oceans and marine wildlife areas, clean energy, livable wages at home and in coffee producing countries, clean drinking water, access to medical technology, microlending in disadvantaged communities and healthy environments are all issues that Grounds for Change supports through our 1% for the Planet nonprofit partners. Their mission, “To support social equity and environmental sustainability through fair trade, organic, shade grown coffee,” has, at its foundation, the idea that businesses partnering with nonprofit organizations, working toward common goals, can indeed change the world.

In these times, faced with some of the most pressing social and environmental issues ever, it will take collaboration, community and creativity to come up with solutions. These valuable partnerships through 1% for the Planet are a means for this change.

Cheers to Stacy & Kelsey for their continued support of our network! Check out their Facebook page for updates, giveaways AND to enter their haiku contest today! Here’s mine…

Member since 03

Giving back year after year

Thanks for your support

Stephen Ritz, Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson join Mad Marathon lineup; 1% for the Planet celebrates 10th anniversary

Waitsfield, VT — This July, Vermont’s Mad River Valley will host “The World’s Most Beautiful Marathon” the Mad Marathon, a 1% for the Planet event. While Sunday, July 7 is the official race day, the whole weekend is turning into a can’t miss summer event. The most recent additions to the weekend’s lineup include 1% for the Planet ambassadors Stephen Ritz, founder of Green Bronx Machine, and Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson, both musicians and Vermont natives — Nicole is well known for her stint on the third season of “The Voice”. “Dwight and Nicole” will perform on Friday, July 5 and Ritz will speak about his experience teaching students how to grow vertical ‘living walls’ on July 6^th.

Ritcher, Nelson and Ritz are new to the 1% for the Planet family, and excited to be ambassadors as 1% for the Planet celebrates its 10^th year.

“Dwight and I are looking forward to performing at an event that does so much good, both for the environment and local and regional communities,” said Nelson.

Ritz added, “The Green Bronx Machine is thrilled to come to the Green Mountain State to celebrate our commitment to 1% For the Planet; proof that no matter where you live, work and play, together, we can all make a difference!”

In addition to speeches, musical performances and the official marathon, the weekend will host a fun run for kids and showcase 1% for the Planet’s hometown of Waitsfield, offering participants the chance to enjoy the local Farmer’s Market and cuisine on Saturday before the race.

“We are so honored to have Stephen, Dwight and Nicole join us for this year’s Mad Marathon and the celebration of our 10^th year,” said Terry Kellogg, CEO of 1% for the Planet. “The 1% for the Planet family is big and continues to grow, adding nonprofits, businesses, ambassadors and media partners. This event allows us to highlight all of these different groups that come together through our network to make good. Honestly, we can’t think of a better way or setting to have our network celebrate ten years of giving back to Blue.”

1% for the Planet announced its partnership with the Mad Marathon earlier this year, making the third annual Mad Marathon the first marathon dedicated to environmental sustainability. All funds raised by the 1% for the Planet team will be split among three nonprofit partnerships: The Staying Connected Initiative, The Bay Circuit Trail and The Penobscot River Restoration. 1% for the Planet New England nonprofit partners also have the opportunity to create individual teams and raise funds for their organization.

Youth are increasingly disengaged from the natural world, spending more and more time sitting in front of screens and less time outdoors. This environmental deficit among young people is a serious problem.  For 40 days every summer, Adventure Risk Challenge (ARC) takes a group of high school youth away from their plugged-in lives and into the woods. Using alternative learning strategies they provide intensive, life-changing experiences through wilderness expeditions, outdoor classrooms, and place-based environmental science studies.

Taking it Home

Youth return to their families, neighborhoods, and schools with a new perspective and desire to give back and make a difference. After a summer in the wilderness learning about sustainability, they are far more likely to participate in community service projects for local and regional environmental causes.

ARC is influencing the next generation to build strong bonds with nature, instilling a love of the wilderness and a desire for stewardship. In the words of a participant, “This program has helped me to find my way; it has opened new doors, reinstalled a sense of empowerment, cemented my desire for life in the outdoors and most importantly, showed me the value of service to others and the environment.”

Jamie Husain photo

Support from the Network

A couple of 1% for the Planet member businesses have already stepped up to support the cause, including:

• Wai Sup Paddle Boards
• Tahoe Dream Team

Successes:

- In ten years, ARC has spent 2,400 days in the wilderness, positively influencing youth to spread the ripples of their learning out into their communities.

- Participants learn the principles of 1% for the Planet nonprofit partner Leave No Trace, and embrace our four core values of determination, integrity, compassion, and service, all of which they take back into their communities and homes.

Call to Action: 

The success of ARC can be traced back to every hour and every investment made by individuals who believe in inspiring youth through the outdoors. Our volunteers are incredible mentors to our young people, providing hundreds of hours of service every summer as writing coaches, workshop facilitators, and outdoor guides. Contact scottley@berkeley.edu to learn more about our volunteer opportunities, and consider donating here.

ARC also invites the public to attend our Voices of Youth events in Tahoe or Yosemite, an annual presentation of profoundly moving poetry, written in and about the wilderness, and performed by our participants every July.

Jamie Husain photo

The Environmental Leaders of Tomorrow:

ARC’s outcomes are multi-leveled. Over the past 10 years, 77% of our summer course graduates have gone on to college, compared to 46% nationwide. These young people are the next generation of decision-makers, and because of their participation with ARC, they are armed with an ethos of conservation and a love of the outdoors.  Lets help this trend continue!

Contact Sarah Cupery Ottley, Director of Programs, scottley@berkeley.edu, 559.676.5096 with any further questions.  You can also visit www.arcprogram.org or www.facebook/AdventureRiskChallenge.

Here’s some quotes from recent participants of the program:

“Being in the wilderness has calmed me down and taught me not to take everything for granted. I want to protect the parks and make sure everything isn’t urbanized. We need to work with nature instead of against it.”

“I consider myself special, because not many people are able to see the Sequoia trees and admire all of this. I also think that we all need to take care of nature more and not destroy it.”

As a company started by a woman, mostly run by women, and selling predominantly to women, they feel breast cancer awareness is an important issue to highlight.  The Keep A Breast Foundation does a great job of educating people, especially youth, about cancer-causing toxins in our everyday environment to help with prevention, early detection, and, more importantly they do so in a fun and engaging way.

They also generously donated a large portion of their 1% commitment directly to us! Thank you Fine Featherheads! This type of support above and beyond membership helps us to broadcast the 1% for the Planet message, increase the size of our network and the amount of funding for environmental causes, and deepen member relationships and impact with their 1% FTP non-profit partners.  1% for the Planet leads the movement to harness the strongest force in our time, commerce, with the greatest need in our culture, sustainability.

We are extremely appreciative for the support that Fine Featherheads has offered in the past to both Keep a Breast and 1% for the Planet. We’re thrilled to be Loving Blue alongside them and look forward to increasing our impact together.

We gave to 5 different charities this year. We chose to support the Coral Reef Alliance and The Sea Turtle Conservancy because the oceans are just so crucial and face so many challenges. When we do have a chance to get away from work and from the New England winters, we love to go down to the Caribbean and enjoy the beautiful weather and waters. We love to snorkel, dive, and view all of the amazing ocean life.

Another charity we gave to was the Adirondack Council which helps protect the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. Being in the Rustic/Adirondack furniture business, we are very tied to the beauty and culture of Adirondack’s.

We also gave to the Rainforest Alliance and to Save the Redwoods. We feel that it is incredibly important to find ways to protect the vital rain forests from abuse and degradation. The redwoods are a magnificent tree that deserve to have protection from irresponsible logging, so that future generations can witness their greatness.

Check out Mark’s Rustic Furniture Gallery to see his amazing work! My personal favorite is the barrel sauna….

I decided to join 1% for the Planet after thinking about how I could make more of a difference as a corporation. Of course, Arcadia Home creates jobs and helps individuals in the countries we produce in but I wanted to do more locally.  In looking at the many options it seemed that by aligning Arcadia Home with so many fantastic companies that are part of 1% for the Planet, there could be a multiplier effect  for the organizations I support. For many years I have personally donated to organizations that I believed in, but the discipline of sitting down and making sure the dollars I have committed to 1% has been spent by the time the auditing comes up is a great exercise for me.

Arcadia Home supports some fantastic local organizations. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is an oasis of calm and beauty in the middle of NYC with an amazing Japanese Garden and wonderful community education programs. At the other end of the scale AH supports the Gowanus Canal Conservancy which is a non-profit dedicated to cleaning up one of the most polluted waterways in the country. The canal is walking distance from my house and their work has resulted in some amazing transformations including the return of some native species to the canal, a big composting initiative for area Farmers Markets and the greening of the neighborhood around the canal. Transportation Alternatives is another local organization we support. Living in Brooklyn, many of us love our bike lanes but there are lots of people that don’t seem to feel the same way. TA works hard to convince the naysayers. They also work to make the city more walkable and get people out of their cars.

On the international front, Arcadia Home supports the World Monuments Fund which is an organization dedicated to preserving the worlds important architectural and cultural heritage sites, helping the local community to maintain and preserve the sites that are often neglected and deteriorating. Once these sites are gone, they can never be replaced. Check out their site and see the fantastic work they do in the US and around the world. Lastly we support the American Museum of Natural History- both a local and international institution – promoting education and scientific research about people, cultures and environments around the world. A must see when visiting NYC.

Thanks for sharing these wonderful organizations with the 1% for the Planet members. Please let me know if you need any help reaching organization in the NY area. I would love to help spread the word about 1% for the Planet.

Thanks for your kind words Dawn- we look forward to seeing you again soon in NYC!

]]> http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/blog/2013/05/i-wanted-to-do-more-locally/feed/ 0 http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/blog/2013/05/members-with-a-passion/ http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/blog/2013/05/members-with-a-passion/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 20:34:03 +0000 jon http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/blog/?p=8049

To help finish up a fantastic week here at 1% for the Planet, we wanted to extend a warm welcome to new member business One Tribe 2010.  Founded and operated by a great couple of guys, it’s great to have their enthusiasm in the network.

Here’s some words from the owners about why they’re in business.

We’re fueled by our passion for Surf, Skate, Snow, Global Ecological Harmony, Philanthropy and anything else we find that is Rad, Gnarly & Straight up Bad Ass. Now in its fourth year, One Tribe 2010 Clothing & Apparel began as a hobby of creating clothes with original silkscreen, old school heat press designs for family, friends & ourselves. Selling our first tee in 2010, this hobby has turned into an amazing endeavor. Offering high quality clothing and apparel products, the designs are a reflection of our proud culture, which is carved out and influenced by the old school evolution of the 60’s & 70’s along with a continued progression through the 80’s, 90’s, and today.  With growing community demand, we are extremely stoked to officially launch One Tribe 2010 to the world.

At One Tribe 2010, the original badass attitude of the 70’s is still as alive as it was when the roots of surf, skate and snow began to define the scene and explode into the mainstream. During this time period, people were simultaneously being given a shock of environmental consciousness. The birth of Earth Day catapulted a new perspective on how and why we live with each other on this big blue marble and why we should be channeling our energy towards environmental concerns. By bringing forth our own proactive initiatives and desire to embrace new innovative ideas, we believe teaming up with 1% for the Planet would help refine as well as positively impact our goal for global ecological harmony.

The important work being done through 1% for the Planet’s networks of businesses and nonprofits is not unlike several of our own in house programs. To simplify this message, we created “Envy Green”, which is dedicated to conservation and sustainable resources. Why Envy Green? Basically, we would like everyone to be envious of this awesome planet we call home and be encouraged to help preserve it for future generations. This platform will promote collaboration with 1% for the Planet members and assist global/local communities by helping them initiate their own programs or financially complement their efforts.

We hope to engage with the community to celebrate the flourishing ecological plans of companies that bring more attention to creating unique quality products and services. We are stoked to contribute one percent of our annual sales to aid ongoing programs and ecological projects throughout the world. One Tribe 2010’s enthusiastic focus is maintaining the original culture of this revolutionary period of sport with greater emphasis on putting our efforts into creating positive and sustainable results. Helping everyone to become successful promotes good health. The connection to 1% For the Planet illuminates the power of knowledge and how talented and passionate companies can bring together a variety of awesomeness to get the party started. And we at One Tribe 2010 like to party.

From a selfish perspective, we all need healthy and functioning ecosystems for our own survival, to have clean water, air and food. As an eco-tourism business, our livelihood is also directly connected to beautiful wild places, open spaces and plentiful wildlife. We try our best to be a sustainable business and to consider the environment and the ramifications of our choices and actions in all that we do, but we also need to give back. We are able to generate revenue by sharing sea kayaking trips on the beautiful British Columbia coast with people from all over the world. We feel it is only right to direct some of that revenue back to organizations and groups that help to protect these wild spaces and wildlife.

We became 1% for the Planet members in order to help raise the profile of the need for all businesses to give back to the environment. While quietly donating to environmental charities gets money where it is needed, 1% for the Planet helps to encourage all businesses to share their success with environmental charities and highlights the fact that together we can make a greater impact. The brand recognition helps customers to make informed decisions, supporting companies who support the environment. I know when I see the 1% for the Planet logo at other shops or businesses, I feel better about purchasing their product or service. My dollar spend has the capacity for a greater positive environmental impact.

The mainstay of our business is providing tours which allow people to sea kayak with whales and a variety of other wildlife in wild and untouched spaces. It is for this reason that over the years as 1% for the Planet members we have chosen to donate to groups which help in protecting the marine environment, the food sources of the whales as well as our local community in which we operate our business. Past donation recipients have included (plus others who still need to apply to become 1% FTP approved nonprofit partners);

- Cetus Research and Conservation

- Save our Salmon

- The Wilderness Tourism Association of British Columbia

- West Coast Environmental Law

- The Sierra Club of BC

- Raincoast Conservation Foundation

- Quadra Island Salmon Enhancement

Donating 1% of all sales is a small contribution to a very worthy cause.  I heard a great quote once which helps to sum it all up nicely, “The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of nature”.

Like so many successful American businesses, Paleo Treats started after dinner with an idea.  While the focus has been on providing high quality desserts to folks who follow the Paleo diet, we’ve always thought of this company as promoting more than just desserts, we’re really about promoting values.  Hard work, joyous intensity, the wild abandon inspired by high winds and heavy seas; all those and more guide us not just during our cookie making but in customer service, packaging up boxes, and thinking of what impact we have on the world.

From the beginning, we’ve been inspired by companies like Patagonia to go beyond just making a profit and to use some of the abundance we’ve encountered to help others and take care of our planet.

At Paleo Treats we’re big believers in doing your own thing; employee autonomy is a strong contributor to our success.  As part of that, we divide our giving between all of us equally (employees and owners) and allow each person to support the 1% non-profit partner they want using a share of company profits.  Other than making sure the partner is 1% approved, we don’t place any restrictions on where to give.  In 2012 we managed to support an aquarium, a local river, ocean discovery, and clean water.  Pretty obviously, water is important to all of us, but we each approached it in our own way.

We’re committed to 1% For the Planet as a way to help protect this planet we’re all sharing, and we’re stoked to have a mission bigger than building a business or creating a great cookie.

Keep on chargin’, and thanks for putting together such a good framework for helping out Mother Earth!