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REGIONAL GREEN JOBS SUMMIT 2009 was a great success! A REPORT and PICTURES to follow, check back! BIG SHOUT OUT TO PARTNERS & SPONSORS! CHECK OUT OUR BLOG: http://sjvleap.wordpress.com/
LEAP is a Latino-Valley based environmental justice grassroots organization in Fresno California. LEAP’s mission is to engage San Joaquin Valley communities to increase social justice awareness, strengthen grassroots leadership and empower Latinos, Immigrants and Youth to achieve environmental sustainable justice while improving community health. (click here to learn more about Valley LEAP)
LEAP was recently founded (February 1, 2008 ) by Rey León, a first generation Mexican-American, self identified as Chicano, and son of Bracero farm workers with a 15 year track record as a Valley activist and organizer. In the past 9 years he has been active in co-founding numerous partnerships to advance social justice, education equity and community self determination in the eight county region of the Valley. Mr. León has five years in successfully advancing air quality public policy, systems change for environmental justice and community engagement on environmental health issues. León is co-founder of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition and currently Vice-Chair. (Get to know more about Rey and his Vision for LEAP)
GREAT NEWS! GREAT NEWS! GREAT NEWS! GREAT NEWS! GREAT NEWS!Youth LEAP (Leadership for Environmental Awareness & Praxis) Program funded! The Fresno Regional Foundation (http://www.fresnoregfoundation.org/) has funded the Youth LEAP proposal to initiate environmental leadership development on the west side of Fresno County. Valley Leap will work with at least 15 students from the Huron area to build leadership, awareness and action oriented projects to improve air quality and community health. Stay Tuned for more updates! Current Campaigns include: Addams Community Diesel Mitigation Initiative – LEAP’s partnership with the grassroots Latino Immigrant environmental justice action group, Addams Committee for Health and a Better Environment or Comité ASMA (Name in Spanish), has led to a community-based action research effort to ultimately mitigate the amount and impact of diesel emissions around the local elementary school. LEAP has established a Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee to assist in the initiative including experts from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, CSU Fresno, Cal Trans and Medical Advocates for Healthy Air.  Latino Healthy Energy Project – For the past three years, numerous conventional fossil fueled power plants have been proposed and sited in the San Joaquin Valley making it possible with the use of Emission Reduction Credits or Offsets. This process and practice has undermined environmental justice communities already disproportionately impacted by pollution sources. Currently, the farm worker low-income community of Avenal is the mark for the next 600 MW power plant that will contaminate close to 500 tons of criteria pollutants and more than two-million tons of green house gasses per year. These criteria pollutants are culpable for the extremely high rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses in the San Joaquin Valley. LEAP is engaging in community education and advocacy to push back on the project while promoting clean renewable energy options for electricity generation and green jobs. If you would like like to help promote clean energy and environmental justice contact Valley LEAP (click here).  Valley Green Jobs for Justice – this is the Valley's "New Green Deal!" Working in collaboration with labor, non-profit, educational/vocational, economic development and community based organizations in the establishment of the San Joaquin Valley Regional Green Jobs Coalition (SJVRGJC). The mission developed by the partners is to enhance healthy and sustainable communities in the San Joaquin Valley through the creation of green jobs. We support the empowerment of communities to achieve socio-economic and environmental equity through the development and regeneration of resources. Valley LEAP and the SJVR Green Jobs Coalition have partnered with local and state-wide partners to host the inaugural Regional Green Jobs Summit 2009 (click here for more information). Join our Google group and stay connected with the Green Economy Movement in the Valley!
Follow us on Twitter:  “It’s amazing how people can get so excited about a rocket to the moon and not give a damn about smog, oil leaks, the devastation of the environment with pesticides, hunger, and disease. When the poor share some of the power that the affluent now monopolize we will give a damn.” ~ Cesar E. Chávez "Es asombroso cómo la gente puede estar tan emocionada por un cohete a la Luna y no dar una maldición sobre el esmog, fugas de aceite, la devastación del medio ambiente con plaguicidas, el hambre y la enfermedad. Cuando los pobres sean parte de la cuota de poder que los ricos monopolizan ahora vamos a dar un carajo." ~ Cesar E. Chávez  |
