NYRP GREENteens Summer 2009 Intensive Professional Development Program

During the summer of 2009, the Global Giving Circle worked with the GREENteens, a group of six very enthusiastic and ambitious inner-city teenage girls, to help them create a green youth movement in NYC. The GREENteens started out as a pilot program of the New York Restoration Project (NYRP) founded by Bette Midler and by the end of the summer, the program was in the NYRP's budget. The NYRP's programs connect low-income at-risk youth to educational opportunities and careers in the emerging green economy.

In order to help the girls achieve their goals the GGC designed a summer intensive professional development program tailor-made for the GREENteens. The five week program was comprised of leadership training, event producing, fundraising, communication skills and social networking led by GGC members, NYRP's staff and the co-president of Net Impact's NY chapter. The summer program enabled the girls to fulfill on their vision and mission - to share their thoughts and concerns about nature and the environment with like-minded teens, and to inspire activism.

As part of their bootcamp, the GGC organized a presentation on two of the most pressing environmental issues today - environmental justice and the green collar movement which was presented by a staff member from Sustainable South Bronx. The green collar movement provides an opportunity to not only battle environmental issues like global warming, but also alleviate urban poverty through the creation of green jobs such as the production and installation of solar panels, the manufacturing of products from recycled materials, etc.

The GREENteens program culminated on July 22nd with a meeting of youth representatives who were invited from other NYC non-profit organizations focused on environmental issues including: Do Something!, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Uprose, Urban Word NYC, Starting Artists, Sustainable South Bronx, Bronx Helpers and Rocking The Boat at the NYRP's Boathouse.

Click here to see the coverage provided by the Manhattan Neighborhood Network's Youth Channel.