Energized Students Needed at the Clean Air Coalition

Interested is community organizing? Community art? Environmentalism?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you are a perfect fit for the Clean Air Coalition of WNY (CAC)! They are a non-profit based in Kenmore that is working to drastically improve the air quality in the area. The air out there is so toxic it’s giving people leukemia and many other skin and respiratory diseases. They have worked with lots of scientists and policy makers to determine exactly what needs to happen – now it just has to get it done!

Working with CAC is a another opportunity for personal growth and to fulfill your CAS hours. Here are a few projects you can get involved in:

Join their canvass. They are building a team of friendly folks who will go out door-to-door to talk to people about what we do and encourage them to join our work. Erin Heaney, City Honors Alum & director of the CAC of WNY, became involved in a political canvass when she was in high school and it was one of the most meaningful things she did those 4 years. You will hear some powerful stories and learn a lot.

Organize a community art and testimonial project. If you’re interested in story telling or art, this is a really exciting opportunity. They want to put together a project that tells the stories of their members. They'd like to produce a work of testimonials for their website and perhaps as a tangible installation somewhere in the community. Many members have pretty incredible stories and they'd like to be able to document them and make them more accessible to the rest of the community. They are looking for students who do photography and/or film and are interested in conducting interviews and transcribing them.

Create your own project. If their work sounds exciting, but you are not excited by the projects above, get in touch with them and they will work something out that is meaningful for you!

If you’re interested, get in touch with Erin at erin.heaney@gmail.com or give her a call at 472.8042. She’s a City Honors grad and is very excited about getting IB students involved!