What started as 4 high schoolers' goal of a sustainable future became The Tomorrow Project, a non-profit organization powered by 75+ youth volunteers. “The Tomorrow Project was born from a seminar about citizenship and social action that they took last school year but quickly grew into a passion project.
Identifying the climate crisis as an issue that desperately needed to be addressed in our communities, the Tomorrow Project was born. We wanted our reach to extend beyond just our school, and into our local community. By working with elementary schools in our area, we were able to take our project to students throughout the region.
Many late night brainstorms were spent at Seattle's Whole Foods markets, turning the grocery store into their very own office space. They knew that the problem of sustainability needed to be tackled with education by normalizing sustainable habits and instilling environmentally conscious behaviors in the next generation. The leadership team began creating an environmental curriculum that would teach young students the importance of sustainability through peer-to-peer teaching. They hoped that high-school role models making conscious sustainable efforts in their communities would inspire younger students to then grow up and make a difference in their lives. They sent out emails to elementary schools across all of the Seattle area, hoping one would respond. And one did - Ms. Williams’ fourth grade class at Emily Dickinson Elementary School. The students learned about pollution in Lake Washington and what they can do to stop it by participating in interactive, hands-on workshops. They are given easy tasks that they can complete at school and home to start leading green lifestyles and protect the planet. They know that change cannot happen overnight, but by changing the mindsets of the future CEOs, doctors, lawyers, politicians - the leaders of tomorrow - prioritizing the planet will become second nature, and these leaders will make conscious decisions to save it. They have already started to partner with schools and get into classrooms. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, their scheduled workshops have been postponed, but they are currently partnered with four schools in the Greater Seattle area, and are proud to be reaching over 500 local elementary school students.
The Tomorrow Project prides themselves on creating tailor-made curriculum's designed to address each school’s unique needs. They bring many ideas such as in-class workshops, lead assemblies, kick-start composting programs, hold recycling/re-purposing drives, design Earth Day/ Earth Month activities, and make community gardens!
Before COVID-19, The Tomorrow Project was in the process of expansion across the nation. Through their Instagram page, they began to recruit volunteers from Seattle all the way to our nation's capital, Washington DC. “I first saw The Tomorrow Project on social media. After looking into the organization a little more, I knew that their vision aligned with everything I believe most strongly about regarding environmental education and climate justice. They happened to have applications open for an Outreach National Co-Director Position, and after a written submission and an interview, I found myself helping to organize the groups outreach team” -Alie McDougall, Outreach Co-Director. With so many students interested in being a part of The Tomorrow Project, 6 new chapters in Seattle, Sammamish, Mukilteo, Hanover, Boston, and Washington DC have been created. The new volunteers means a lot of ideas and hard work are coming out of this quarantine. Through zoom calls and group texts, The Tomorrow project is making great strides to create a world where sustainable habits come as second nature. “By the end of 2021, our goal is to have over 15 chapters and partnerships with over 40 schools across the country. We also hope that our first generation of students feels empowered to carry this education with them far into the future.” -The Tomorrow Project Leadership Team.
You can learn more information about The Tomorrow Project at
https://tomorrowprojectus.org or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.tomorrow.project/
