THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Thanks to your generous donations, we raised $8912 in contributions from our IndieGoGo campaign. We're already using the money to support our organizing work in PA. None of this would be possible without your support.

There are several ways that you can stay updated on our EJS progress:

1) Join our Email List: bit.ly/EJS-email

2) Like our Facebook Page: facebook.com/energyjusticesummer

3) Follow our Blog: energyjusticesummer.org/blog

Finally, please let us know if you would like to visit us this summer! We would be happy to show you around Susquehanna County and connect you directly to residents organizing against gas extraction. Send Adam an email at adam@energyjusticesummer.org if you would like to arrange a visit.

Gratefully,

The Energy Justice Summer Organizing Committee

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UPDATE: Successful $20,000 grant for EJS!

It's been an action-packed first four weeks of Energy Justice Summer. Since we moved in June 1, our young organizers have been hard at work working with impacted residents. CLICK HERE to read our EJS blog for updates!

We also heard really exciting news last week from Wallace Global Fund: we received a $20,000 grant for our organizing work! Along with the money we raised through your generous donations, we now have enough funding to provide stipends to our seven full-time youth organizers. 

With the grant secured, we now have a goal to raise $10,000 from this IndieGoGo campaign. We'll use the additional money to  build a  website that highlights the stories of residents impacted by fracking. We will then use the website to raise resources for court cases and clean water supplies.

Thank you so much for your generous contributions to this campaign! None of this would be possible without your support.

-The EJS Organizing Committee

EJS resident organizers Sarita, Allison, Collin, Spencer, Adam, and Maria

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This summer, we're working in solidarity with communities on the frontlines of fracking.

We are young organizers who care deeply about social justice and human rights. We seek a world where everyone has access to sustainable energy and no one suffers unjustly because of our fossil fuel economy. We believe that fracking presents a grave threat to people everywhere, especially those on the frontlines of extraction. To create a just energy future, we must stop fracking.

This summer, SustainUS, Energy Justice Network and local community groups are launching a joint project called “Energy Justice Summer” to work in solidarity communities directly impacted by fracking in Pennsylvania. Here’s what we have planned:

• COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS: We’ll host workshops with experts to teach residents how to monitor the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of fracking and organize to stop them.
• STUDENT TRAININGS: We’ll convene students across the Northeast and prepare them to launch campaigns against fracking on campus this fall. 
• IMPACTFUL RESEARCH: We’ll analyze violations of five gas companies, creating valuable materials for regulatory appeals and legal fights. We will show that rural poverty has increased since shale development has begun. Finally, we will report on the feasibility of a just transition away from fracking toward a green economy in Northeast Pennsylvania.
• CREATIVE ACTIONS: We'll support ongoing fights to stop expansion of natural gas infrastructure, including the Cove Point LNG export terminal.

By contributing to our campaign, you will help to stop fracking and bring about a more just energy future. From the frontlines of fracking in Pennsylvania to the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, people are suffering because of continued fossil fuel extraction. We need to show that fracking is unacceptable and that young people will stand in solidarity with the communities most impacted. We need Energy Justice Summer.

How we'll use the money we raise:

To make Energy Justice Summer possible, we need to raise $25,000. This will cover housing, food, transportation, printing costs and other materials, and summer stipends for eight organizing fellows. Our goal from this crowdfunding campaign is to raise $15,000, which will guarantee the house rental, communal food, transportation costs, and $5000 in need-based stipends. If we raise more money than our goal, we will be able to expand our the stipends we offer to fellows and increase our impact this summer.

Here's specifically how we will use the money we raise from crowdfunding:

• House rental for the summer: $1000/month * 3 months = $3000
• Communal food: $250/person/month * 2.5 months * 8 people = $5000
• Transportation costs (for organizing-related driving): 50 mi/day/car        * 2 cars * 75 days / 15 miles/gallon *$4.00/gallon = $2000
• Need-based stipends for organizing fellows: $5,000

TOTAL: $15,000

We are soliciting grants from foundations to cover the remaining for the costs of running Energy Justice Summer. If we don't reach our fundraising goal, we will still run the program but will reduce the number of fellows. Regardless of how much we raise, we are are committed to securing the house and working with communities impacted by fracking in Pennsylvania.

Fracking endangers our air, water, climate, health, and traditional rural heritage economies.

Pollution from fracking is a direct threat to our air, water, climate, and health. Fracking endangers air quality through the high release of contaminants from equipment and intentional venting during the transport. Fracking is associated with groundwater contamination, including methane and heavy metals. In 2013, the state of Pennsylvania alone received 398 complaints of water contamination from drilling. Finally, methane leaks associated with fracking can make the climate impacts of the process even worse than coal.

Ways YOU can help spread the word:

Right now, we need people to help share our campaign personally. Whether by phone, text, email, or face to face, telling your friends about our campaign and encouraging them to contribute will really help. We are also planning to go BIG with social media on Monday May 12. We'll send out more about that soon!

Thanks for your support. Together, we can stop fracking and bring about a more just energy future. This is the summer we will push for #EnergyJustice.

PERKS for contributing to our campaign:

We hope that you will contribute to our campaign out of the goodness of your heart and a desire to help the communities most impacted by fracking in Pennsylvania. But to further motivate you, we created some exciting perks:

• A digital"thank you" video message from our team in beautiful Susquehanna County Pennsylvania, where we'll be this summer.

• Triple Divide movie: Called the "best documentary on fracking" to date, this film is narrated by academy-award winner Mark Ruffalo and features the stories of some residents we will be work with this summer. See: www.tripledividefilm.org
  

• Gasland and Gasland 2 movies: Josh Fox's documentaries helped to make fracking a national issue. These groundbreaking films feature many of the Pennsylvania community leaders we will work with this summer. See: www.gaslandthemovie.com
  

• One bag of "Fracktivist" blend from Gimme Coffee: 

  According to the company, "We need clean water to have great coffee, thriving farms, and healthy people. That's why a portion of proceeds from every bag of Fracktivist Blend supports the anti-fracking movement." Great coffee while fighting fracking. What's not to like?

• ENERGY Coffeetable Book: A beautiful coffee-table book with many horrifying images of fracking and other fossil fuel extraction sites. But don't worry; it also contains hopeful images of renewables! 

• Dinner on the Delaware River: Come out to Pennsylvania and let our team treat you to dinner at a top tier restaurant on the Delaware River (which incidentally currently has a moratorium on fracking!)

• Bed and Breakfast weekend in Northeast PA: Bring your partner or friend and spend a weekend relaxing at one of the finest Bed & Breakfasts in Northeastern PA. Our team member from Pike County is an expert in local attractions and will help you plan your weekend. Preview your weekend at www.discoverpikepa.com.
  

• Weeklong Vacation in the Poconos: We'll set you and your sweetheart or friend up for a week in the Poconos! Our team member from Pike County is an expert in local attractions and will personally help you create your dream vacation. Preview your getaway at www.discoverpikepa.com.