(HOUSTON) The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice has been awarded a $1.05 million grant from the Macquarie Group Foundation, which drives social impact work for Macquarie Group. This grant will be used to fund a new HBCU EJ Climate Corps at Texas Southern University. The program will equip young people with the tools they need to become the next generation of leaders and educate them on climate change and its impact on communities of color.
Starting in Summer 2023, the Bullard Center will recruit and mentor 20 undergraduate students annually to participate in the HBCU EJ Climate Corps. The program will include four weeks of training for undergraduate students to expose and educate them to climate-related career opportunities and underlying impacts on their communities. Students will learn about a variety of environmental and climate justice issues, develop research tools and techniques, and present their community-focused research findings at the annual HBCU Climate Change Conference in Fall 2023 in New Orleans.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to immerse our students in environmental and climate justice research, policy and civic engagement work, with emphasis on cross-disciplinary solutions to multiple and converging threats in our most climate-vulnerable communities—places like many of our students’ neighborhoods and hometowns,” said Dr. Robert D. Bullard, Executive Director of the Bullard Center. “The grant will help our TSU-based HBCU Climate Consortia continue to lead in a challenging field.”
The grant will complement two other projects within the Bullard Center. Funds will be used to assist with HBCU Climate Resilience Disaster Training for our Houston Justice40 community “hub” organizations. The training is a place-based climate resilience training around disaster preparedness, response and recovery. The grant will also assist with expanding the Environmental and Climate Justice Technical Assistance Project (ECJTAP), an existing project designed to provide technical assistance, education, training, mentoring and research support to disadvantaged communities in Houston. ECJTAP helps develop “roadmaps” and model platforms for accessing resources and benefits under the Justice40 initiative and funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act with seven local grassroots community-based organizations.
“Our partnership with the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice aligns perfectly with Macquarie’s mission of empowering people to build better futures for themselves and their communities, with an intentional focus on promoting racial equity,” said Pritha Mittal, Macquarie Group Foundation Regional Director, Americas. “Exposing young people of color to environmental career paths will equip them with the tools they need to positively impact their communities. We’re proud to support The Bullard Center and look forward to working with students to confront environmental and racial injustice.”
Applications are currently available for Texas Southern University students.
About the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice
The Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University was launched to address longstanding issues of systemic inequality and structural racism that cause disproportionate pain, suffering and death in Black and other people of color communities. Texas Southern University is a student-centered comprehensive doctoral university committed to ensuring equality, offering innovative programs that are responsive to its urban setting, and transforming diverse students into lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and creative leaders in their local, national, and global communities.
About the Macquarie Group Foundation
The Macquarie Group Foundation drives social impact work for Macquarie Group. We support our people, businesses, and communities to build a better future, and engagement with our people is at the heart of everything we do. We aim to leverage both financial and non-financial resources to achieve the greatest social impact possible. Recognising that many people around the world face systemic barriers to employment, the majority of our funding focuses on breaking down these barriers and building effective pathways to economic security.
.png)
.png)
