O‘ahu Group Annual Meeting

Aloha all!Mahalo nui for attending our Sierra Club O‘ahu Group brunch meeting last weekend at Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Gardens. This was a long-overdue gathering of our members and supporters and it was great to see over 50 familiar and new faces in attendance to enjoy a sustainable vegetarian brunch provided by Juicy Brew and World Centric.As you heard at the meeting, we are joining the fight for a $15 minimum wage; we will be launching a campaign to switch the city bus fleet to electric buses; we will be fighting the Dillingham Ranch subdivision and proposing new rules to curtail “gentlemen” farms; we’ll be working with the city to shape the work of the new Office of Climate Change; we will be pressing the city to convert all its facilities to net-zero energy buildings, to close the plastic bag loophole, to promote local food farming, to increase re-use of “waste” water; we’ll be working to improve trail access, and so much more. And we’ll be hosting a series of social events. So there will be plenty of opportunities to engage and volunteer.In the meantime I’d like to follow-up on one issue raised by our Chair, Anthony Aalto: sustaining memberships. As Anthony explained, most of the money from your yearly membership is retained by the national Sierra Club to finance our headquarters operation in San Francisco and the vital work they do in Washington DC. We only get about $1 per member for our work in Hawai‘i.So we rely on local volunteers to become Sustaining Members. These are people who commit to regularly donating a small amount – typically between $10 and $25 every month. 100% of those donations stays in Hawai‘i on the sort of issues listed above.To become a sustaining member of the O‘ahu Group, please visit www.sierracluboahu.org/donate and fill out the secure donation form, checking the box for "Make this contribution monthly". There is also an "Additional Information" box at the bottom where you can further specify how you would like your money to be used (for example in a specific campaign, for outings, events, lobbying, advocacy, etc.). After submitting, you will receive a confirmation email as receipt of your donation.We are one of the few non-profit organizations who are allowed to lobby at the City Council and State level. Monthly donations enable us to plan ahead and ensure the longevity of our organization, so that we can continue to protect what we all love about these islands.I've been on the Sierra Club team for just two months and I’m only beginning to see how much work we have to do – We would love to be able to count on your ongoing support as we head into 2017.Mahalo again and Happy Holidays!Jodi