The letter sent in our 2015 end-of-the-year emailing:
Dear Friends and Supporters,
As Seven Generations Ahead (SGA) enters into its 15th year, we are extremely proud of what we have accomplished. We continue to thrive like a healthy, well-nourished organic plant — consistently feeding off of our inspiration, energy, and partners to drive sustainability change. We are grateful for the many long-term supporters and new additions to our fold who enable SGA to create ripple-effect sustainability results for current and future generations.
2015 was a banner year for SGA. Top-level highlights include:
•Authoring the landmark Food Scrap Composting Challenges and Solutions in Illinois Report in collaboration with our Illinois Food Scrap Coalition (IFSC) partners, working with our co-founders to solidify the organizational structure of the IFSC, and designing an implementation plan for 2016 that builds upon the recommendations in our January 2015 Report.
•Facilitating and authoring the Healthy West Chicago Community Action Plan in collaboration with the City of West Chicago and key partners, and working with partners to design an implementation work plan, secure implementation funding and establish a plan for moving forward.
•Facilitating PlanItGreen through the OPRF Community Foundation’s Communityworks initiative, including driving implementation of the Environmental Sustainability Plan for Oak Park and River Forest and producing the project’s second Community Sustainability Report Card.
•Producing two GreenTown events, in Illinois and Ohio, in collaboration with co-producer a5 Group Inc., and host partners, the City of Aurora and Kent State University — and driving the formation of the Fox Valley Sustainability Network (FVSN).
•Supporting the authorship of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Sustainability Plan Tool Kit and Indicators Guide designed to provide local communities with guidance on creating sustainability plans and developing metrics.
•Launching and facilitating the Illinois Farm to School Network (IFSN) with key partners, driving Illinois’ first implementation of the Great Apple Crunch local food procurement initiative, and being awarded with our Kane County Health Department partner the only USDA Farm to School grant in Illinois.
•Implementing the first Chicago Public Schools commercial food scrap composting system pilot in five schools, building off of our work in Oak Park and other Chicago metro area communities.
There is plenty more to share, but these top-level accomplishments provide a quick glance of how busy we and our partners have been, and how impactful our supporters have been through their generous financing of our work. Thank you for your partnership and support in 2015, and for being a driving force for sustainability change in our region.
Best wishes for a prosperous and sustainable new year!
Gary Cuneen, Founder and Executive Director
Seven Generations Ahead