My Nonprofit Reviews

Earth Force has been instrumental in creating an environment for service learning for children through various programs across the United States. Students study the concept of what makes a community and how to assist communities in their needs. They explore their local area, connect to various constituencies, and identify several projects that seem essential to the health and welfare of their community. As a group, these children, with the help of the Earth Force process, democratically decide what project is the most necessary. At this juncture they become educated on the issue, why it is an issue, and the reason there is such a need in this area. After looking at the issue, they explore various ways of mitigating the problem and put together data that explains what needs to be done and how this can be accomplished. The outcomes have been profoundly wonderful: (1) one group found there were higher amounts of lead in the drinking water of a community with the highest amounts in the poorer areas. They came up with a solution that pleased their local city council and mayor and helped eliminate in part, the issue. (2) A group of teachers who went through this process so they in turn could do this in their classrooms found five projects for energy savings at a U.S. Forest facility, Land Between the Lakes - Brandon Spring in TN/KY. The outcome was they had made recommendations to install LED lighting in one large building, the costs of which would be amortized in the first year; savings of 92,000 gallons of water by the replacement of top load washers to front loaders - as well as energy for pumping the water from the well, hot water, etc.; a new energy efficient stove that has saved on air conditioning and energy lost in the industrial kitchen since the old Viking stove took half of a day to melt butter. Earth Force bridges the gap between learning and service, between purposeful problem solving and Core Content, between school and community, between parents and students. Their work also has been successful in motivating children to contribute to their communities and to become engaged in working hard to be the "best that they can be." Undoubtedly Earth Force, their staff, their programs are indicators of a passionate approach to making education purposeful not only for children, but in the context of community. I have seen their work first-handed, and the outcomes with children and adults have been profoundly exceptional and successful.