Massachusetts Student Connects Teens to Climate Action: Bridging Organizations with Volunteers

The Climate Leaders Fellowship program teaches students about climate change and environmental sustainability, and guides them in designing and launching a project in their own communities.

The fellowship is offered as a collaboration between the Stanford University Deliberative Democracy Lab and the Rustic Pathways Foundation.

Read about Callie’s impactful experience below!

Callie Brady
South Hamilton, Massachusetts
Pingree School

Hi! My name is Callie Brady, and I’m a sophomore at Pingree School in Massachusetts. I have a passion for environmental preservation and humanitarian efforts within and beyond my community.

For my project, I addressed the struggle high school students face finding programs that feature their climate concerns, while still offering volunteer opportunities for their age range. My focus was primarily centered on organizations local to Boston and surrounding areas. I hope to expand to further locations in the future.

To address this issue, I created a website that displays organizations and their climate mission, depending on what broad impact they focus on. For example, I created a category titled, “Urban Environment,” which targets the impacts of climate change on cities. Within this category are links to organizations, and a brief introduction to their organization and agenda.

Additionally, I included an art gallery on the website to showcase student pieces. There is a simple submission form on the page. I named my website “Climate Connection,” because it serves as a connection between climate organizations and students.

My project targets motivated high school students who are looking for environmental volunteer opportunities in the Boston area. I found it difficult to find organizations offering volunteer opportunities for students, so I thought my website could provide a foundation for these potential climate leaders to find an organization that resonates with their personal commitment. From my experience, finding these specific programs takes a lot of motivation and dedication.

When brainstorming my project, I thought if I could hand students the ability to volunteer and do good in their community, it would have a far greater impact than running a clothing drive, or cleaning up a beach. My website creates the opportunity for hundreds of students to pursue multiple volunteer programs, and create real tangible change within their community, and within their preferred category.

Participating in the Climate Leaders Fellowship introduced me to a labyrinth of future projects pertaining to climate change. It exposed me to the implications and realities of climate change and motivated me to pursue further climate volunteer opportunities. Additionally, and most importantly, it made me realize my capacity to induce change and provided an excellent framework for my subsequent research on climate change.