{"id":142739,"date":"2025-05-26T08:30:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142739"},"modified":"2025-05-26T08:32:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:32:53","slug":"city-of-allentown-announces-second-round-of-youth-climate-action-fund-recipients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142739","title":{"rendered":"City of Allentown Announces Second Round of Youth Climate Action Fund Recipients"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>City of Allentown Announces Second Round of Youth Climate Action Fund Recipients<\/h1>\n<p>May 23, 2025 \u2013 The City of Allentown is excited to announce the second round of awardees for its Youth Climate Action Fund. This initiative, supported by a $100,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, empowers young people aged 15\u201324 to design and lead climate action projects that make a meaningful impact in their community.<\/p>\n<p>The Round 2 selection committee has awarded grants to 15 new youth-led projects, each receiving funding of up to $5,000. These creative and community-rooted efforts span education, environmental stewardship, public art, sustainability, and advocacy.<\/p>\n<h1>Round 2 Award Recipients:<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Allentown School District <\/strong><em>Tree Equity at STREAM Academy <\/em>\u2013 $3,318<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Educates students and families on the value of trees through hands-on learning, native sapling distribution, and interactive environmental activities during the school\u2019s annual block party.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Boys and Girls Club of Allentown <\/strong><em>BGCA Bike and Walk Campaign <\/em>\u2013 $3,150<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A teen-led campaign featuring a park clean-up, tree planting, and public outreach to promote biking and walking as environmentally friendly alternatives.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Communities in Schools <\/strong><em>Trexler Middle School Outdoor Classroom <\/em>\u2013 $5,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Partners with Lehigh University to transform green space into an engaging outdoor classroom that promotes environmental learning and stewardship.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Community Bike Works <\/strong><em>Free Community Bike Tune-Up Day <\/em>\u2013 $5,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Youth mechanics host a citywide bike repair event promoting sustainability and access to healthy, emission-free transportation.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Holy District Brethren in Christ Church <\/strong><em>Garden City Green Space Revitalization <\/em>\u2013 $5,000 Converts a vacant space into a green gathering spot for youth-led education and stewardship with a focus on gardening and climate action.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Juan Sanchez Baseball League <\/strong><em>Manos Que Reciclan, Mundo Que Respira <\/em>\u2013 $5,000 Young artists will create recycled-material art installations that raise awareness about climate change and recycling.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Generational Guidance <\/strong><em>Reworked Goods <\/em>\u2013 $5,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A community upcycling initiative that teaches youth and families to transform used clothing into new garments, reducing textile waste and fast fashion\u2019s environmental impact.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Movement Moves Media <\/strong><em>Environmental Spoken Word and Live Performances <\/em>\u2013 $5,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A youth-led spoken word and music project that will culminate in a three-stop performance tour in downtown Allentown.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Muhlenberg College <\/strong><em>Beyond Books <\/em>\u2013 $5,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Students will design and distribute sustainability-focused lending kits through the Allentown Public Library, guided by community feedback.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Muhlenberg College <\/strong><em>Radical Hospitality \u2013 White Oak Grove <\/em>\u2013 $5,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Establishes a new oak grove on campus as a welcoming green space for community members and local wildlife, emphasizing inclusivity and ecological restoration.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Nurture Nature Center <\/strong><em>Amirah\u2019s Hope Organization <\/em>\u2013 $4,300<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Implements AI-powered hydroponic systems and youth training programs in sustainable agriculture and environmental technology.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley <\/strong><em>Youth Environmental Stewardship Initiative <\/em>\u2013 $5,000 Offers hands-on service opportunities for youth in urban agriculture and environmental conservation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Valley Youth House <\/strong><em>Know Your Soil: Urban and Indoor Gardening at Home <\/em>\u2013 $5,000 Provides workshops and tools to help youth and families test, improve, and maintain healthy soil while learning how to grow food at home.<\/li>\n<li><strong>West End Park Civic Association <\/strong><em>West Park Pollinators and YOU! <\/em>\u2013 $5,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A youth-led pollinator garden project in West Park that incorporates environmental education, placards, and QR codes for interactive community learning.<\/p>\n<p>All funded projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2025, and additional award announcements are expected in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nGenesis Ortega<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.AllentownPA.gov\">http:\/\/www.AllentownPA.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>City of Allentown Announces Second Round of Youth Climate Action Fund Recipients May 23, 2025 \u2013 The City of Allentown is excited to announce the second round of awardees for &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142739\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">City of Allentown Announces Second Round of Youth Climate Action Fund Recipients<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5716,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allentown","category-in-the-valley"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ycaf.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142739"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=142739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/142740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=142739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=142739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=142739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}