August 5, 2011 Contact: Cate Arnold, BLS Youth CAN

News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 5, 2011 Contact: Cate Arnold, BLS Youth CAN 617-688-2262

Contact: Dan Gelbtuch, Youth Force Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation 617-825-4200 x 203 MEDIA ADVISORY

AWARD WINNING TEEN ENVIONMENTAL ORGANIZATION PARTNERS WITH YOUTH JOBS ADVOCACY GROUP TO PROVIDE GROUNDBREAKING GREEN JOBS INITIATIVE: Youth Green Jobs Energy Audit Training Program

Who: 10 students from schools in Massachusetts (Jeremiah E. Burke, H.S., John D. O’Bryant H.S., Madison Park, H.S., Match Charter Public H.S., Blue Hills Regional H.S., Stoughton H.S., Community Academy of Science & Health); plus 8 collaborating youth organizers. Guest Speaker:  Boston City Councilor, John Connolly  High school students from Boston Latin School Youth Climate Action Network  High school students from Dorchester Bay Youth Force

What: Partnering Youth Force and BLS Youth CAN high school students will team up to judge practice energy action plan presentations made by participating students in the new pilot Green Youth Jobs Energy Audit Training Program conceived and planned by teens. City Councilor Connolly will offer brief remarks about the education system and skill building for a green jobs economy. Certificates of appreciation will be awarded to the inaugural class of green jobs trainees, as well as to the teens who developed and succeeded in securing funding for the innovative program.

When: Thursday August 11th at 11:00 – 12:00

Where: Boston Latin School, Boston, MA, School Library Electronic Classroom

Details: The Youth Green Jobs and Energy Audit Training Program represents collaboration between high school students in the Boston Latin School Youth Climate Action Network and Dorchester Bay Youth Force. The 4-week training program aims to provide a summer green jobs that will prepare teens to do community service energy audits and foster youth leadership, environmentalism and energy conservation. For this inaugural year, ten teens are participating in pairs or “green teams.” The teams are being paid a stipend to undergo four weeks of training that will culminate in conducting energy audits, and developing energy action plans for their respective schools or community centers. The teens will present the findings of their audits and their proposed action plans at community info sessions in the fall.

Thanks to generous funding from the National Grid Foundation, Youth Force and Youth CAN are able to offer this exciting opportunity for young people to demonstrate how effective and powerful youth leadership and green youth jobs can be in bringing about a more sustainable future. Our goal is to create green jobs for teens that will provide youth with the skills they need to lead the way on energy efficiency, conservation, and community engagement related to energy and sustainability.

Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation & Dorchester Bay Youth Force http://www.dbedc.org/ Dorchester Bay’s mission is to build a strong, thriving, and diverse community in Boston’s north Dorchester neighborhoods. Youth Force, an initiative of Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, is a youth-led, adult supported community organizing program which exists to create positive and systemic change in the Dorchester community by developing teen leaders and engaging in grass roots campaign work around youth employment issues.

BLS Youth CAN www.blsyouthcan.org is an after school club at the Boston Latin School working in their community and beyond to address the problems related to global climate change and promote education for sustainability. Major initiatives include: promoting greener campuses, promoting greener thinking through the EfS Curriculum Campaign; providing inquiry-based learning opportunities including a proposed shared green roof and community learning center; and promoting youth leadership and empowerment through networking, community partnerships, mentoring, and multiple programs and annual events that educate for sustainability.