Grow, Groove, and Give 2009

Join the Global Giving Circle (GGC) for Grow, Groove, and Give 2009, a 2-day opportunity for New Yorkers to have a hand in creating a better and greener environment for themselves, their surrounding neighborhoods and NYC youth. Coinciding with Earth Week, Grow, Groove, and Give 2009 is comprised of a free public tree planting opportunity with MillionTreesNYC on Saturday, April 18 and a not-to-be-missed fundraising dance party at Cielo on Sunday, April 19th to benefit two NYC green collar job training programs for youth.

In addition to these 2 events, New Yorkers can visit the GoGreenExpo which will be held at the Hilton Hotel from April 17 - 19th. For more details, click here.

APRIL 18 - TREE PLANTING WITH MILLIONTREESNYC (FREE EVENT)

On Saturday, April 18th from 9am to 3pm, the GGC will join MillionTreesNYC to plant trees at Pomonok Playground in Queens, NY. The MillionTreesNYC project is an initiative of the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a non-profit organization that was founded by Bette Midler "with the belief that clean, green neighborhoods are fundamental to the quality of life, and that every community in New York City deserves an oasis of natural beauty." The organization's goal is to plant one million new trees by 2017.

Given that planting a tree in NYC can go a long way - including offsetting climate change, capturing rainfall, removing dust and other pollutants from the air (thereby reducing the development of asthma and other respiratory diseases), and simply adding much-needed oxygen to city environment - GGC decided it was essential to join MillionTreesNYC and one of their main sponsors, JetBlue Airways, in reaching their one million mark.

To sign up and get directions for the free tree planting with GGC, MillionTreesNYC and their sponsor JetBlue Airways, CLICK HERE.

After you sign up, JetBlue Airways will automatically enter you into a raffle for a roundtrip ticket to any of 50-plus cities JetBlue serves from New York City.

APRIL 19 - EARTH DAY DANCE PARTY BENEFIT

Advanced tickets for the Earth Day Dance Party Benefit begin at $15 and can be bought on the first and only fair-trade ticket company site Brown Paper Tickets. Higher ticket prices include gifts and will help to maximize the total donation to the Lower Eastside Girls Club and the New York Restoration Project. Click here for tickets.

The dance party proceeds will benefit two growing teen environmental education and job training programs: "Girls Gone Green," a project of the Lower Eastside Girls Club and the New York Restoration Project pilot program "Green Teens."

The dance party, a perfect antidote to a long winter, will be held at Cielo, the well-known meat packing district club that was voted "Best Club 2008" from Clubworld Awards. Some of NY's hottest and most innovative DJs will be spinning global, soulful house music from 6 pm to 2 am. Confirmed DJs include Bill Bragin/Globesonic, Jeannie Hopper/Liquid Sound Lounge, Karsh Kale/Six Degrees Records, Kervyn Mark/Melting Pot Global and MKL/Lion1Music. The Earth Day dance party will not only include a full bar, but also green non-alcoholic beverages.

Both environmental and job training programs connect low-income at-risk neighborhood kids to educational opportunities and careers in the emerging green economy. In addition to educating participants about environmental issues like climate change, alternative energy sources, and sustainable agriculture, participants are introduced to green collar job opportunities.

The green collar movement operates upon the idea that the green economy can provide an opportunity to not only battle global warming, but also alleviate urban poverty through the creation of green jobs such as the production and installation of solar panels, the manufacturing of products from recycled materials, as well as whole home performance (including attic insulation, weatherization, etc.)

Founder of Green for All, graduate of Yale Law School, and author of The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, Van Jones explains, "The green economy has the power to deliver sources of work, wealth and health to low-income people - while honoring the earth. We have people coming home from wars, coming home from prisons, coming out of high school with no job prospects whatsoever. Let us connect the people who most need work with the work that most needs to be done."

In March 2009, Jones was appointed to the newly created position, Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.