Dear Friends,
Well, we said we wanted to have a big-bang year to celebrate our 10th anniversary – and, wow! Just six months in and we are beyond excited about what we’ve achieved so far in 2024.
As you’ll read below, we had tremendous success in Ohio, a new market for us, where we presented to Rotary, business owners, students, and the community at large. More globally, we offered educational opportunities in exciting ways, from a Zoom interview about coral reefs with a renowned marine ecologist to educating journalism professors about the scale and scope of climate change impacts. We created new Primers to better connect with new audiences, from real estate professionals to high-net-worth investors.
And we’re so excited to report that the media has caught wind of our work. This quarter, C-Change was interviewed by Fortune and the “Climate Confident” podcast. We were quoted in The Hill and, while in Ohio, featured by the Toledo Blade, covered by local TV news and radio, and interviewed by a teenage media phenom with an enormous following on social media. To boot, we wrote an op-ed published by The Invading Sea and the Orlando Sentinel in Florida, and another that ran on Insurance NewsNet.
This is what we can achieve when others – when YOU – help multiply our message. We can reach so many more people and make a much bigger impact when we have people in communities – like our new supporters in Ohio, like our established affiliates in Georgia and South Carolina – sharing the C-Change message with friends, family, colleagues, and connections.
This is how the ripple spreads. One community, one individual, one conversation at a time.
We’re going to float on that sweet feeling of community and action into the hazy (but we hope not too hot) days of summer. Stay safe and cool – we’ll be back with more news in the fall.
Warmest regards,
Kathleen Biggins
Founder and President
Celebrating 10 Years with Laughs and Community
We gathered in Princeton on April 26 to reminisce and share some laughs at our 10th Anniversary Benefit. About 120 people attended a wonderful evening of comedy, cocktails, and delicious food. Comedian Eric Lyden’s humor created a relaxing, joyful night for the people who have supported our work for the past 10 years, plus many new friends! Thank you to all who attended and who donated to help us continue this important work.
Grand Slam Home Run with Audiences in Ohio
Our first visit to Toledo, OH, was a highlight of the year so far – a picture-perfect example of what we can achieve when we have tremendous support and enthusiasm in a community. Thanks to the Country Garden Club, Kathleen was very busy! In three days, she presented to more than 900 people at four events. In addition, the team on the ground had set up other ways for C-Change to influence their community:
- Radio interview on WSPD with Fred Lefebvre, a conservative talk show host who offered to pay for the tickets for the first 10 call-in deniers to attend our public Primer presentation at Owens Community College. We are thrilled to report that 340 people attended in all!
- Rotary Club of Toledo – 75 people attended this tailor-made Primer, which was covered by local TV evening news.
- Interview with multimedia teen journalist Jaden Jefferson, who has been featured on the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and has interviewed the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Elizabeth Warren. Jaden was engaging and impressive – if he’s the future of our younger generations, we are heading in the right direction.
- Perrysburg High School – 350 students attended our presentation. After the presentation, a young woman approached Kathleen to say she had “shivers up her spine and tears in her eyes” because our presentation had given her hope that we can address this issue.
- The Andersons (a $1.9B multifaceted, international company) – 80 corporate leaders and directors of civic and environmental organizations attended. A farmer from the audience told us about his climate-change related struggles: pests he had never dealt with before are challenging his crops, and that prime farmland is being sold to solar developers and no longer yielding food. It was a poignant example of just how challenging this issue is in real life.
Discussing the Intersection of Climate and Real Estate
On May 1, we presented to the Mercer County (NJ) Women’s Council of Realtors at Mrs. G’s, a family-owned appliance retailer. The event was sponsored by Electrolux. We showcased a new Primer that drills down on risks to real estate and major trends impacting value going forward.
This is a critically important area that has not been covered significantly in the news, yet has major ramifications for investors, homeowners, and real estate professionals. Understanding the issues here are crucial because real estate is often our biggest investment, and many of us could be at significant exposure to risk due to climate change.
The 40 people who attended were very receptive and we are excited to see how well this Primer resonates with future audiences.
“Chasing Coral” – A Q&A with Dr. James Porter
Kathleen Biggins with marine ecologist James Porter
On May 22, we turned to Zoom to offer a public education forum on how climate change is affecting our coral reefs. Kathleen interviewed marine ecologist James W. Porter, PhD, who has been working with this important ecosystem for 50 years. His documentary, Chasing Coral, has won many awards, including an Emmy for outstanding nature documentary, the Sundance Audience Award: Documentary, and a Peabody Award for being a “story that matters.” Dr. Porter talked about how our coral reefs are dying as our oceans heat up, explaining that this is a global crisis not only for marine life, but for humanity – we depend on coral reefs more than many of us realize and their loss will reverberate throughout our world. He and Kathleen discussed the risks and the solutions needed to turn the tide.
Helping the Media to Understand the Nuances of Climate Communication
Kathleen headed back to Athens, GA, on May 31 to educate journalism professors about climate change. Hosted by two of the leading journalism programs in the country at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Georgia, the Journalism Educators Institute trains leaders in news media and higher education on a range of important topics. Kathleen spoke to 60 participants at UGA’s Grady College, sharing our non-partisan presentation on the science and risks of climate change and highlighting the important role journalists have in explaining this complex topic to their audiences.
Returning to Glenmede to Discuss Climate and Investments
After our successful presentation in 2023, Glenmede wealth management firm asked C-Change to share our message again. Kathleen was thrilled to deliver the Primer to about 45 people at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia on June 12. Glenmede works to inform its clients about smart, forward-thinking investments that provide strong returns and reduce our climate impact, such as investing in the energy providers that are shifting to renewables, purchasing municipal bonds for cities that are building resilient infrastructure, and supporting companies that are offering promising new technologies.
As a non-profit, C-Change can push for change from the bottom, but having the investment world listen to our message helps put money behind the message. It was an incredible opportunity to partner with these top-notch professionals.
C-Change Athens (GA) Update
C-Change Athens team members (from left) Lili Outz, Valerie Aldridge, Sally Coenen, and Nancy Stangle with James Porter.
C-Change Athens teamed up with the Athens-Area Community Foundation on March 28 to host a tour of “Sunken Treasure: The Art and Science of Coral Reefs” in the Hargrett Gallery at the University of Georgia. The exhibit explores the history of coral and coral reefs through a display of rare books and specimens collected by Dr. James W. Porter during his 50-year career as a marine ecologist. Dr. Porter delivered a lively lecture about the impact of climate change on coral.
The Athens team has been hard at work helping to foster climate change awareness through community action. Affiliate member Nancy Stangle helped plan and host the 30th anniversary party for the Athens Land Trust, of which she is a founding member. The Athens Land Trust works to improve quality of life for all by preserving, protecting, and strengthening the stewardship of land.
As co-chair of the newly established Sustainability Advisory Committee for the Clarke County School District, C-Change member Ramsey Nix successfully advocated for a school district energy audit and an on-campus solar demonstration for students when they return to school at the end of this summer. Ramsey also wrote an open letter urging state officials to protect the Okefenokee Swamp (a massive carbon sink) by denying permits to a strip mining operation. Her editorial was published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Savannah Morning News, and the Flagpole.
Last, but not least, several Athens affiliate members recently met with the Athens-Clarke County Sustainability Office to encourage collaboration. The members hope to assist the office in applying for upcoming sustainability grants. Keep up the great momentum, Athens!
C-Change Columbia (SC) Update
C-Change Columbia continues to seek opportunities to expand awareness of climate change and action across South Carolina. Most recently, the team has spent time encouraging young people in Columbia to apply for Youth Climate Action Fund grants, which are available through the City of Columbia. Columbia is one of 100 cities selected for this funding through Bloomberg Philanthropies. Thanks for working hard to spread our message, Columbia!
Featured Team Member: Sally Coenen
I met Sally when I presented to the Junior Ladies Garden Club in Athens, GA, and recognized her as a dynamo from the start. She and another proponent of climate action, Lili Outz, had been trying to jump-start a conversation about climate change in their community when they attended our presentation. They jumped onboard with us, and they’ve been soaring ever since! Under Sally’s direction, the C-Change Athens team has made tremendous strides in working with the local government, schools, and community at large.
Beyond her passion for climate action, Sally is a composer, a pianist (listen to her on Spotify!), a painter, and a social worker. She comes from a family that cares deeply about the natural world – her father was a renowned lawyer and conservationist, and her mother was a garden club powerhouse who drove the beautification of her hometown of Greenville, SC. Sally continues in their footsteps, willing to roll up her sleeves to affect change – and her soft, Southern charm makes “yes” the only answer when she asks! Sally and her husband have three children. We are so lucky to have her on the C-Change team!
Q: Why am I involved with C-Change?
I became involved with C-Change because I admired the way they framed the climate issue – not as a Democratic or Republican [party] issue, but as a human issue. That viewpoint helps us to open our minds and facilitates coming together. I also like the reliance on facts, not hype, that C-Change is committed to in all its presentations.
Q: What have I learned about climate change that makes me hopeful?
During my time with C-Change I have met scores of ordinary people who are working hard to mitigate climate change in whatever ways best suit their individual talents and abilities. Momentum seems to be building on momentum, and that’s exciting for me.
Reducing Our Own Footprints: Tips and Advice
If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re probably concerned about our use of fossil fuels and making an effort to reduce your own carbon footprint. One way to do that is to create a climate-friendly retirement plan that reduces or eliminates the biggest polluters from your investment portfolio.
Yale Climate Connections suggests using Fossil Free Funds’ “Invest Your Values” or Sphere’s “AtmoSphere” to comb through the funds and stocks in your personal and employer’s plans and see how each company stacks up when it comes to climate action – or non-action.
You can take this a step further by talking with your work colleagues about asking your employer to add climate-conscious funds to their investment plans and by suggesting to family and friends that they examine their own portfolios.
And while you’re working to decrease your own investment in fossil fuels, you can also increase your investment in clean-energy technologies. If we have indeed hit peak oil as some experts claim, investing in solar, carbon capture, wind, and other alternatives could not only help save the planet, it could boost your personal finances.
For more information, check out this article and guidance at Yale Climate Connections.
