ENERGY NEVER DIESQuestPoint

LONG ISLAND YOUTH

SHOW CONCERT GOERS WHAT GREEN JOBS ARE ALL ABOUT

Sammy Chu-Director of Long Island Green Homes-Babylon, NY.

When Green for All called me looking for volunteers for their joint effort with The Black Eyed Peas, I knew just where to find some.

Since 2008 the Long Island Green Homes program has been retrofitting homes in Babylon, Long Island and is on its way to thousands more. What’s better than that? This year we partnered with United Way’s Youth Build program to train low-income youths from Wyandanch, the most economically depressed community on Long Island. They are attaining the skills they need to start careers with Green Homes contractors. Who could be better to spread Green for All’s message of high road green jobs for everyone than our Youth Build kids?

Our Youth Build kids along with the Long Island Green Homes crew canvassed Nassau Coliseum all night long. I was so impressed with the enthusiasm that they demonstrated taking part in a movement that will have such an enormous impact on their lives and the future of our clean energy economy. These kids have seized the opportunity to forge their own futures through self-improvement, volunteerism and civic participation. We are so grateful to Green For All and The Black Eyed Peas for providing such a powerful platform for change. We truly appreciate the opportunity to advance our green economy and create new opportunities for those who have been left out in the past.

You’ve got to give it up for Green For All, the innovative national grass roots organization started by Van Jones and Majora Carter currently being led by Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins. Now in conjunction with THE BLACK EYED PEAS, RETHINK, AND LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS their launching the ENERGY NEVER DIES (END) TOUR .

To raise awareness about climate change and to promote a strong clean-energy economy during the U.S. leg of their 2010 The E.N.D. World Tour. will.i.am, member of six-time Grammy Award winning The Black Eyed Peas said, “From creating new sustainable products out recycled bottles to capping harmful global warming pollution, the actions and policies that protect the planet for future generations are the same as those that create new jobs and economic opportunities.”

The campaign launched in Washington, D.C., and will continue throughout the band’s 23 U.S. tour stops. Each city features a unique recycling initiative with Rethink, an innovative fabric and apparel company that focuses on producing sustainable fabric from recycled plastic bottles. Green For All volunteers will encourage fans at each tour venue to recycle their plastic bottles, which will eventually be converted into fabric to produce The Black Eyed Peas merchandise including t-shirts.

In addition to supporting this recycling initiative, non-profit partners Green For All and LCV are conducting community outreach and educational events, including conversations around jobs and opportunities in the green industry.