The Green Institute for Village Empowerment is dedicated to the collaborative transformation of individuals and groups discovering the crucial balance between personal needs, the needs of others, and the environment; thus, increasing the practices of sustainable living and elevating the quality of life. GIVES’ focus is on education and empowerment of the individual and the public about the benefits of a creating a sustainable future.
Our Mission is to serve as a catalyst for “green” engagement through education tied with innovative partnerships so collaboratively, we can create a sustainable future in our homes, offices, schools, neighborhoods and communities.
Simple. Focused. Sustainable. GIVE.
Core Principals:
The Green Institute for Village Empowerment relies on three core principals:
Recognize – that many of the resources we use today will not be here tomorrow.
Reflect – on the multitude and magnitude of our daily choices and how they affect environment.
Respond – take action to help your home, office, school, and community to become more sustainable.
Philosophy:
Humanity has the opportunity to make a choice that will affect generations to come. The choice is simple, to use less, in order to truly get more. The pressure and use of resources continues to increase with the increase of demand and population. GIVE’s first priority is to educate about why caring for the environment is important. We must recognize that “we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” For instance, in the United States, 12 million barrels of oil and 14 million trees go to producing plastic and paper bags each year. Plastic bags are the fifth most commonly found item in coastal cleanups. On average, each American receives almost 560 pieces of junk mail per year, when totaled for the nation, consumes more energy than 2.8 million cars every year. What seems so simple has deep ramifications to the equilibrium of tomorrow’s quality of life. Now is the time for focused reflection on what impact each of us has within our homes, offices, schools, and communities. GIVES’ focus is on education and empowerment about the benefits of a creating a sustainable future, which allows for individuals and groups to respond today to make the necessary changes for a better tomorrow.
History:
GIVE was founded in 2006 as a non-profit by Ali Sahabi, President of SE Corporation and master developer of the sustainable mixed-use community of Dos Lagos in Corona, California. He is a nationally recognized expert on the issues of sustainable development and has a vision to create a society that achieves sustainability through balance- a balance between the environmental, social, and economic impacts of everything we do. GIVE is grassroots movement from that vision. Through education, initiatives, and events, GIVE reaches out to empower communities and individuals to improve quality of life today and for generations to come.
At its inception, GIVE hosted a variety of events and projects to encourage green mobilization:
GIVE is the sponsor of the Green Valley Initiative (GVI), a regional economic development plan focused on bringing green technologies, renewable energy, alternative transportation and sustainable lifestyles to the Inland Empire, a region comprising Riverside and San Bernardino counties. GVI initiatives recently include both county Workforce Development efforts establishing Regional Industry Cluster Opportunity and Southern California Association of Governments grant to increase San Bernardino’s plan for sustainability.
GIVE founded student organizations (GIVE chapters) to empower students and assist universities with making more sustainable choices. Our mission is simple: to foster working relationships between students and professors of varied disciplines, businesses, and government at all levels to raise awareness and promote the advancement of sustainability. GIVE chapters were founded at Cal State University San Bernardino, University of California, Riverside, and Cal Baptist University.
GIVE Symposiums were a series of monthly lectures featuring prominent people in the fields of sustainability. These informative presentations can be viewed live at the Krikorian Theater at Dos Lagos, Corona, California. Past speakers include: Dr. Edward J. Blakely, international recovery expert; California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer; and California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey.
Green Valley Earth Festival is Riverside County’s largest Earth Day celebration, an event designed to educate and encourage the public on issues related to sustainability. The event was held annual from 2006-2008 featuring vending booths from environmental organizations, “green” businesses, and public agencies charged with overseeing local water, habitat and other environmental resources. A regional speech contest and solar car race for students helps to educate today’s youth about the need to plan for a sustainable future.
In 2010 GIVE created a strategic plan to channel its efforts more efficiently and effectively within a vast and impoverished region. GIVE is targeting its educational and empowerment campaign on encouraging business and households to “go green” and furthering collaborative partnerships. Presently, our partnerships are with the State of California Department of Conversation and three minor league baseball teams aiming to encourage patrons to recycle. The ground work is being laid for the creation of Inland Empire’s first Conservation Corp which aims to provide at-risk young adults and school-aged youth with opportunities for success by providing them with job skills training, education and work experience with an emphasis on conservation and service projects that benefit the community. GIVE has strategically developed a multimedia campaign to educate and target the online generation through reality shows, facebook, twitter, and providing an interactive website that will be the hub for green education and action.
