A Global Solution to a Global Problem 175 countries are currently negotiating a legally-binding, international treaty on plastic pollution that could change the world. It’s a big deal. In 2022, the United Nations started discussing the terms and details of this treaty. The fifth and final round of negotiations are set to conclude in 2025. It’s…
Indigenous Peoples Day Arizona: 5th Annual “Going Full Circle” Celebration Overcoming the obstacles of 2020, the organizers of Indigenous People’s Day in Arizona were able to hold a virtual event with musicians, speakers, youth empowerment, art demonstrations, a virtual day of movement, and a virtual movie screening. The celebration of the Indigenous People remains vital…
Not An Alternative:We Refuse to Die Campaign Not An Alternative specializes in cultural organizing, community engagement, and narrative-changing strategies that address environmental and social challenges and help build a more just society. In 2014, they created The Natural History Museum as a touring program that creates collaborations with Indigenous and other community-rooted groups to build…
Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD): Gary Advocates for Responsible Development (GARD) promotes economic development in the City of Gary that prioritizes environmental justice, community health, and protection of our neighborhoods and natural resources. In 2021 GARD began raising environmental justice and technical concerns about the proposed Centerpoint plant (trash to fuel refinery). The organization…
Rise St. James:Protecting St. James from New Petrochemical Plants Founded by Sharon Lavigne, a retired special needs teacher and winner of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize, Rise St. James is a grassroots organization based in St. James, Louisiana. Sharon has dedicated herself to keeping multibillion dollar chemical plants out of her community. We’re so proud…
Unbottle and Protect Chaffee County Water:Colorado Longtime ally in Story of Stuff’s Troubled Waters coalition that is campaigning to reclaim public water sources from corporate water bottlers, and a previous Grassroots Grantee. Unbottle and Protect is currently engaged in active campaigning around a Chaffee County water site, and the grant is to offset some of…
This February marked the one-year anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster in East Palestine, an incident that spurred our Community to action. Through the Grassroots Grants Program (and additional funds raised through the generosity of our Community) we rushed support to frontline groups aiding and mobilizing residents. Recently, we revisited this site in…
Why We Give The Story of Stuff Project established the Grassroots Grants Program in 2017 to support small organizations and groups organizing against water privatization and plastic pollution in the United States. Since we launched, we’ve supported over 100 grassroots groups with $500,000 in grants. We offer these partners financial resources, media infrastructure, and strategic…
FEBRUARY 2022 SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA Photo Essay by Michael O’Heaney. Special thanks to Hugh Bialecki for capturing some of these images. John Muir said that “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” After reams of paper evidence, hours of testimony over Zoom, and dozens…
