“Bead & Roses is our only foundation funder, and it really means a lot that they’re willing to help us spur environmental activism in Chester.
One of the worst examples of environmental racism in the United States is right here in our region. Chester, a low-income, predominantly black community, is saddled with nearly all of the polluting industries in the Delaware Valley. But the DelCo Alliance for Environmental Justice is organizing Chester residents to improve the environment and their community’s health.
Created in 2007 and completely volunteer-led, DelCo Alliance has already achieved some important victories. Most notably, they thwarted a proposal to build the world’s largest tire incinerator in their community before plans even got off the ground. And when they learned the incinerator was shifting its focus to Bordentown, NJ, they reached out to residents in that town to share the strategies they used to prevent this major polluter from building in Chester.
DelCo volunteer Amy Wilson says that, “We try not to need a lot of funding, but there’s no doubt that some of our work takes money. Bread & Roses is our only foundation funder, and it really means a lot that they’re willing to help us spur environmental activism in Chester.”
Recently, DelCo Alliance organized a Green Jobs Day event to explore ways green jobs can revitalize the Chester community without leaving low-income people behind. They are also planning for a community garden at the largest housing project in the city and are working toward making Chester and surrounding areas a zero-waste community that is a model for recycling, reusing and reducing waste.
Bread & Roses thanks all of our donors for helping us raise the money that goes directly toward supporting the work of DelCo Alliance and all our grantees.
DelCo Alliance volunteers are mobilizing their neighbors to hold local polluters accountable and build a cleaner environment, through efforts like PowerVote campaign urging 2008 political candidates to take a stronger stand on environmental issues. Photo by: Amy Wilson