By Hannah E. Jones
On Thursday, April 20, EarthShare Georgia hosted a celebration to honor its 30th anniversary with environmentalists from around the city. The organization also honored five companies and individuals with its annual awards commemorating their efforts in local sustainability.
EarthShare Georgia connects corporate and sustainability communities, serving as a one-stop shop for environmental workplace giving. EarthShare currently helps raise funds for 32 Georgia-based organizations, with at least 30 additional groups based nationally and internationally.
“A lot of times, people need that introduction into their first volunteer opportunity or educational program to have that fire lit inside of them and feel like they personally can make a difference,” Executive Director Jami Buck-Vance said. “Companies can make it easy for their employees to make the right choice and then, hopefully, take those same behaviors home and the community at large.”
Leaders in sustainability were in attendance, with representatives from Park Pride, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Root Local, Partnership for Southern Equity and many more. Original team members also joined the celebration, including EarthShare’s first executive director Alice Rolls and Southface President James Marlow, a founding board member. The event was hosted at King Plow Arts Center with food, music and a silent auction.
“It’s really great to see companies of all sizes being a part of this because you don’t have to be a huge corporation,” Buck-Vance said. “Having your employees excited to work for a company that they know is actively trying to be part of the solution and giving them opportunities to [make an impact] — it really helps drive employee engagement. It helps to really give people a sense that they’re part of something bigger than their day-to-day job.”
The 2023 awardees include:
- Outstanding Campaign Partner: Kaiser Permanente Georgia. Employees with the healthcare company pledged nearly $31,000, raising the most of any company.
- Outstanding Nonprofit Partner of the Year: Georgia Organics. The statewide nonprofit provides direct support to farmers and was selected for the high engagement with EarthShare’s work.
- Georgia Volunteer of the Year: Moniqua Williams. A sustainability professional, she has been instrumental in helping EarthShare organize its events and fundraising efforts.
- Georgia Sustainability Social Innovator: Jasmine Crowe-Houston, GoodrCo. The company was selected for its work in connecting people with healthy food and reducing waste.
- Georgia Sustainability Guardian: Maria Saporta. She was recognized for helping keep residents informed, highlighting what’s being done within the local business community and holding elected officials accountable through her reporting.
When reflecting on reaching that 30-year mark, Buck-Vance said, “We’re so grateful. It’s a big milestone. We’ve weathered recessions, we’ve weathered trends in the workplace [and] we’re so grateful to have weathered the pandemic.”
As EarthShare moves forward, Buck-Vance said the team is working to connect with more workplace giving partners to raise additional funds for local and national nonprofits. She also aims to “continuously evolve as an organization to give companies what they need — be it employee engagement, operational innovation, best practices and really being the connector across all these different groups doing this work.”
To learn more about EarthShare’s work and ways to get involved, click here.
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