Community Corner

Sustainable Long Island Receives 25K Grant from Levitt Foundation

The grant gives four students a chance to work at the non-profit.

For a third year, students will get to work at Sustainable Long Island, a non-profit organization which focuses on local economic development, environmental health and social equity, thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Levitt Foundation.

"The Levitt Foundation is pleased to support this unique opportunity for Long Island teens to learn about their environment and take action to improve and protect their own communities,” said Barbara R. Greenberg, an advisor at the foundation. Since 1948, the Levitt Foundation has been funding programs that enable young people to participate in environmental programs.

The grant will fund Sustainable Long Island's third annual High School Fellowship, an opportunity for s high school juniors and seniors to work on community revitalization projects and use their knowledge to plan for Long Island's future, according to the organization.

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The grant allows four students to participate in the 2011 program. Students work from Sustainable Long Island’s Bethpage office, as well as in their local community, 20 hours per week for eight weeks during the summer and six hours per week for 40 weeks during the school year.

The goal of Sustainable Long Island’s fellowship is "to empower young people with planning tools, information, and knowledge so as to enable them to make a positive impact in their communities," and students learn about issues of sustainability, community planning, development and civic engagement, said Sustainable Long Island Board President Ruth Negrón Gaines.

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“With the Levitt Foundation’s generous funding, Long Island high school students will be able to see what it’s like to work at a nonprofit organization, complete day-to-day tasks, while focusing on numerous projects and planning processes,”  Gaines said.

High School juniors and seniors interested in the fellowship should send letter of interest and resume to Artineh Havan (ahavan@sustainableli.org) by no later than May 27.


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