A Greener Future

Time Commitment: ~5 hours per week Overview: We’re looking for someone ambitious, organized and passionate to become our new volunteer fundraising coordinator!... This role would be great for someone who - Enjoys building connections in their community - Thinks out of the box and enjoys coming up with fundraising ideas - Wants experience working in a nonprofit environment Responsibilities: - Building relationships in the communities that we work to create partnerships and sponsorship opportunities - Identifying fundraising opportunities Helping to develop fundraising strategies and campaigns in collaboration with our team - Develop a strong stewardship plan encouraging ongoing engagement and retention of current donors - Build and manage a thoughtful and inspiring supporter journey Skills: - We’re looking for someone who takes initiative, is ambitious and goal oriented, and who loves to connect with others - Excellent communication and interpersonal skills - Comfortable building relationships and making connections on behalf of A Greener Future - Willingness to use tools including Slack, Asana, and GSuite for project management and communications - Ability to attend at least one meeting per month - Passion for keeping our local environments healthy and clean - Genuine interest in fundraising, previous experience is an asset Bonus Points: - Experience or knowledge in the charity status application process - A strong network of contacts TO APPLY: Email [email protected] with your resume and a brief description of why you're interested in this volunteer role. Use subject line "Fundraising Coordinator Application". Applications deadline: November 30, 11:59pm.

Join our team! We're looking to grow our Core Volunteer team with passionate, planet-loving people who are able to dedicate ~5 hours per week to our organization. Go to https://agreenerfuture.ca/volunteer-opportunities for more info on our open positions.

Looking for volunteer opportunities? We've got you covered! - https://mailchi.mp/d3196f7532f8/agf-news-7078629

Check out this article that our Executive Director, Rochelle, was interviewed for. Since 2014, A Greener Future has found ~1,500 plastic tampon applicators along the shores of Lake Ontario. As Mark Mattson, of Swim Drink Fish Canada mentions in the article, finding tampon applicators on the shores is an indicator that sewage is being discharged into the water. However, according to Professor Sharra Vostral, the taboo around menstruation may be the root cause of this plastic p...roblem. Read on to learn more about this issue at the intersection of environment and menstrual health.

In the month of October I participated in A Greener Future's #ButtBlitz. 15 volunteers picked up cigarette butts in their neighbourhoods (mostly in Ontario) th...roughout the month. As a group we picked up 66,955 cigarette butts that will be mailed into Terracycle who will clean and recycle them into plastic lumber! I managed to pick up 7066 butts in my neighbourhood in 10 different cleanups and over 11 hours. I found most of cigarette butts I picked up in parking lots around my neighbourhood and in the street. Through volunteering with A Greener Future and participating in this project, I've learned a few things about cigarette butts and I wanted to share them with you. Top Things I Want You To Know About Cigarette Butt Litter: -Cigarette filters are made of plastic. They do not biodegrade, when they breakdown they only breakdown into microplastics. We already know microplastics are everywhere (in our food chain, our drinking water and even in the air) even if we don't know the exact harm they can cause to humans yet, we have seen the harm they cause to animals (birds and fish starve because they think they are full when their stomachs are actually full of plastic). -Unburned tobacco (and the other chemicals that cigarettes contain) is very harmful to fish. The concentration of less than 1 cigarette butt per litre of water in a stream, lake or pond can kill all of the fish. -Most storm drains empty directly into our lakes and rivers without any type of filtration. This means that any litter, but especially cigarette butts, can end up in Lake Ontario- which is the drinking water for 9 million people - and eventually even the Atlantic Ocean. -Cigarette butts are a fire hazard. They have been known to start house fires, balcony fires, and wildfires. Unextinguished cigarette butts which blow off of balconies or are put into plant pots or tossed into the bush can be very dangerous, especially during a drought. Potting soil in most planters and pots is highly flammable - it is not just dirt, it is a lot of organic material that when dry can quickly ignite and cause a fire. They also cause garbage fires when they are not extinguished properly before disposal. -A lot of municipal garbage cans have a spot specifically for cigarette butts to prevent these garbage fires (see the pictures). -Cigarettes are the number one littered item in the world and along with gum are the most common small litter item in Toronto. -You can receive a fine for littering cigarette butts. Though not often enforced as it's not so easy to catch, it is still a possibility. Please if you are a smoker, take responsibility for your cigarette butts. Extinguish them properly, take the time to find a place to dispose of them (it's usually not that hard) or hold onto them until you can find a place to throw them out (get a pocket ashtray if you need it) and if there are places where a garbage can or cigarette butt receptacle is needed then contact the owners/managers of that place and let them know. If you know a smoker or see a smoker tossing their butts on the ground, please tell them to dispose of them properly!