Confluence AmeriCorps Receives Full Funding!
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Greetings Friends and Partners!
It is with great enthusiasm that Confluence Environmental Center announces our recommendation for full funding from Oregon Volunteers! This grant recognizes the quality of our program and the critical services it provides to Oregonians.
This three year award will not only fund our flagship AmeriCorps program, but will also help us to pilot a NEW Conservation Fellows Program. Four AmeriCorps Members and one new Staff Member will work with small conservation organizations in East County to build organizational capacity and program infrastructure. For more information about the new Fellows program, feel free to contact Neil Schulman, Confluence Board President, at nschulman@confluencecenter.org
To recap...in Confluence's first three years, our AmeriCorps Members:
- Delivered conservation education to 18,378 adults - 52% who identified as a person of color and 55% who lived below the federal poverty level.
- Planted 71,179 trees and removed 378 acres of invasive weeds - 67% of those sites were in zip codes with high percentages of people of color and low income families.
- Led conservation and garden-based experiences to 14,294 youth - 53% who identified as a youth of color and 54% who received Free or Reduced Lunch.
- Facilitated 1,506 workshops and presentations to adults about access to nature, household toxins, and healthy food choices which, according to surveys, increased their awareness by 85%.
In the coming years, Confluence AmeriCorps Program will continue to nurture our successful Leadership Program, deepen our existing partnerships, and advance our work in environmental equity. Our Members will continue to offer critical education and outreach in our focus areas - watershed health, garden-based /environmental education and resource/energy conservation.
Additionally, we are excited to widen our scope by cultivating NEW partnerships with community health workers and health care providers to explore the relationship between access to nature and human health.
We are delighted to be continuing our important work; thank YOU for your interest and support along the way!
Sincerely,
Confluence Program Staff