The city of Dayton is one of 300 cities across the globe selected to take part in a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative to support youth-led climate solution projects.
It’s called the Youth Climate Action Fund, and Dayton will receive $50,000 and technical assistance over the next year for the effort.
“The Youth Climate Action Fund is helping city halls around the world work alongside hundreds of thousands of young people to take action on climate challenges and improve their communities,” said Patricia Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies said in a city press release.
The city is targeting proposals supported by local nonprofits but led by young people ages 15 through 24. Grants for projects will range from $1,000 to $5,000.
Lela Klein works in the city of Dayton’s Office of Sustainability and is spearheading the local implementation of the Youth Climate Action Fund. The city is planning to get the word out to youth-serving organizations, schools and recreation centers.
According to Klein, the city hopes to use what they learn from these proposals for the new sustainability plan the city will draft this year.
“So it's a perfect time to bring young people's voices to the table to make sure that our priorities are really aligned as a city with our youth and with residents,” Klein said.
Examples of projects that would fit the program include:
- urban gardens,
- tree plantings,
- and litter reduction initiatives.
But Klein said the city doesn’t want to limit anyone’s imagination. The city won’t be defining the program’s success — young people will.
“We believe that young people have innovative solutions. They know what the community needs. They're often the closest to some of the problems, and so we really want to trust the expertise of our youth,” Klein said.
Applications will open by Aug. 17, and they will be due by Oct. 2. Eventually, the city will host information sessions on the program, but dates haven’t been fleshed out yet.
Other Ohio cities named to the initiative this year are Akron, Cincinnati and Oberlin.
Dayton could be eligible to receive an additional $50,000 to support more projects and expand participation, depending on the success of this round.
"This is an incredible opportunity for the City of Dayton," said Dayton Mayor Shenise Turner-Sloss in a statement. "Being selected for the Youth Climate Action Fund uplifts the outstanding work of our Office of Sustainability and gives Dayton's young people real power to create meaningful change in their own community. I could not be more excited about what they will accomplish through this initiative."
