Earth Share

Donations to Earth Share are shared among our member groups to protect the environment, health, wildlife and natural resources. One environment, one simple way to care for it. Please visit our website.

How do you help people in my community?

Nontoxic Schools: The Center for Health, Environment and Justice and Beyond Pesticides implemented the use of Integrated Pest Management in local Montgomery County schools.  Through their development of this system and efforts to raise visibility – the Montgomery County School System was able to reduce pesticide use by 90 percent at 200 schools.   Not only did these programs create a healthier environment for thousands of children, they also saved the school district $1,800 per school.

Healthy Alternatives:  American Farmland Trust’s Freshfarm Market at Dupont Circle is held every Sunday from April through December and enables more than 1,400 local patrons to shop for high quality, fresh, locally grown food, directly from the producers. All unsold produce goes to two non-profits providing meals for those less fortunate.

Environmental Advocacy:  Clean Water Fund raised awareness and provided information on and alternatives to the high levels of lead that contaminates the drinking water in the DC metro area.  The organization also helped found and plays a key role in coordinating DC area Water COPs (Consumers Organized for Protection), an alliance of more than 20 local and national public health, citizen, consumer, environmental justice, HIV/AIDS, and other organizations seeking stronger more efficient protection of drinking water and source water for the DC Metro area.

Outdoor Recreational Opportunities:  Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land  help combat obesity and its related health issues by establishing community parks, and trails for biking, hiking and a multitude of recreational opportunities.  In total, Earth Share members have created more than 12,500 miles of rail-trails, provided 1.5 million hours of volunteer service to maintain our parks and trails, and protected millions of acres of open space for urban parks, community gardens, greenways and forestland.

Why do you need my support?

For $1 per pay period, you can:

• provide a local group with detailed guides on the health risks posed by landfills and how to test for pollution problems and interpret the results
• pay for educational materials in Spanish, Portuguese and English for school children providing information on environmental hazards in their communities

For $2 per pay period, you can:

• save miles of trail for bicycling, horseback riding, running or hiking
• buy one acre of unprotected tropical rainforest and helps assure that natural areas vital to our global climate and the protection of diverse species are protected

For $4 per pay period, you can:

• purchase 1,000 tree seedlings and planting equipment for a community in the important buffer zone around Costa Rica’s and Panama’s La Amistad Biosphere Reserve
• purchase a 2-way radio set for monitoring the safety of mountain gorilla groups

For $5 per pay period, you can:

• furnish all classes of a high school with charts and guides about alternatives to commonly used hazardous household products
• plant five trees in an urban area

For $10 per pay period, you can:

• reforest Central American land with 2,100 seedlings which, when planted, reduce soil erosion and improve family nutrition through gardening
• safeguard U.S. drinking water by supporting Citizens' Right to Know programs reporting on contaminants in their drinking water

For $20 per pay period, you can:

• purchase one spotting scope for monitoring released California Condors, Aplomado Falcons, Hawaiian songbirds, and Harpy Eagles and their movements in the wild
• buy an expert toxicologist's time to respond to a community group's need for detailed technical review of air or water quality test results, helping them interpret the data's implications for the risks to their health

For $50 per pay period, you can:

• sponsor two classes of 15 students from underprivileged areas to a day at the zoo to see spectacular wildlife firsthand, and to gain an insight into the importance of protecting wildlife and their habitats

How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?

Earth Share is governed by a board that is comprised of member organization representatives (the people we are raising money for) and “at-large” representatives (from companies that host us in their payroll deduction campaigns).  As such, our annual audited financial statements, our budget and all of our operations receive careful scrutiny and must meet the highest possible standards.  Deviations from our established budget require the approval of our board.  Earth Share also certifies that its member groups operate with the highest ethical and professional standards.  Additionally, by keeping our overhead low, Earth Share is able to pass more than 90 percent of designated funds on to our member organizations.

Can I Volunteer? How?

Yes!  Visit our website at www.earthshare.org to get involved with the Earth Share and the important work and incredible accomplishments that our members take part in everyday.