The Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation hosted a "Thanksgiving in October Celebration of Giving and Grants Presentation on Thursday, October 25th. Among many other grants, five organizations were awarded grants through the COMMUNITYWORKS initiative for environmental sustainability.
The five organizations and their projects that received environmental sustainability grants in this round of funding are as follows:
District 97 Irving School Garden Project: Grant to expand the garden to provide students, families and the community with access to and knowledge about healthy foods and sustainability.
Green Community Connections: Grant to support the Energy, Waste and Water Campaign, a 12-month campaign to educate, motivate and support OPRF residents to make measurable changes in areas of 1) residential energy efficiencies and alternative energies, 2) indoor and outdoor water management and conservation, and 3) household waste reduction through reducing, reusing and recycling.
Oak Park Development Corporation: For the Green Business Project which identifies and suppports local businesses implementing and measuring environmentally sustainable improvements in commercial buildings and business operations aligned with PlanItGreen goals (energy, water, & waste outcomes) while being mindful of business's financial "bottom line."
Triton College: For BizItGreen designed to deliver training to OPRF businesses on how to achieve Green Business Certification and to provide technical assistance and consultative support to OPRF businesses that elect to engage in the process available through the Illinois Green Business Association.
Village of Oak Park: For the Oak Park Residential Energy and Water Efficiency program based on energy audits, low flow toilet rebates and a shower head and faucet aereator program.
Additional information on the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation and it's grant-making is available at the foundation's web site: http://www.oprfcommfd.org
