2010 Annual Report - The Sierra Club Foundation

THE SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION | ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Serving Those
Who Serve
By targeting our support at the community level—where transformation begins—we help build
and broaden the environmental movement. We are especially proud of our work with active duty
and veteran members of the United States armed forces. From connecting military families with the
healing powers of our natural heritage, to training veterans for green jobs in their hometowns, our
funding prioritizes the well-being of our nation’s warriors.
NEWLY TRAINED VETERANS DELIVER ENERGY SAVINGS
With one in four construction workers currently unemployed—
and as many as one in fi ve veterans unemployed—there is an
urgent need to generate good, green, and forward-looking jobs
like those established through the Military Housing Energy
Effi ciency Project (MHEEP).
This unique initiative brings together the Sierra Club,
Veterans Green Jobs, Laborers International Union of North
America (LIUNA), Ardently Green, and the D.C. Project to
create green jobs and cut residential energy use. The project
takes a two-pronged approach that honors veterans’ service to
our country by providing green job training while also offering
complimentary cost-saving home energy upgrades to active duty
service members.
MHEEP has provided these upgrades to more than 30
service members throughout the Northern Virginia area. Through
MHEEP, veterans are identifi ed by Veterans Green Jobs and
trained to weatherize residential properties by LIUNA. Following
training, the veterans will join the green economy and weatherize
the homes of 50 military families in the region.
Military Families Outdoors
“One of the great lessons of
recent years is that you don’t
need to be a military expert
to help. You don’t necessarily
need to build something
new to help. You can keep
doing what you’re already
doing and connect your work
to the priorities of military
families. Consider the Sierra
Club, which partnered with
the NMFA to create Operation
Purple—summer camps that
have made a difference in the
lives of tens of thousands of
military kids.”
– FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA
ADDRESSING THE NATIONAL
MILITARY FAMILY ASSOCIATION’S
SUMMIT IN MAY, 2010
When a military family member is deployed or a veteran returns
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