Help Me Get to Belize! Sustainability Study

Hello! My name is Shamariah I am a student at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. I am studying environmental engineering technologies and sustainable horticulture. I was discouraged from going to college after high school but the experiences I have had has led me to pursue my dream. I am creating this fundraiser to attend a trip that I believe will be another life-changing experience.

My journey began in 2016, at 18 years old I joined my neighborhood community garden and council. I didn't think I could go to college but I knew I wanted to make a difference. I decided to start at home. I didn't know then how this simple decision would change the trajectory of my life path. I committed to being the co-coordinator of the community garden and secretary of the community council. In the beginning, I didn't understand much of what was talked about but eventually, I found my place and voice. Through my work with the garden, I acquired a job at Groundwork Cincinnati an environmental education nonprofit where I worked on urban conservation and restoration projects. I coveted our community garden coordinator's job which was an Americorps position. Before I felt comfortable taking it on, though, I wanted to learn more about what it meant to live in community. I took a summer off of work to live at Echo Valley Farm in Wisconsin, a community farm that focuses on sustainable living and promoting personal peace. Echo Valley is now my home away from home. I go to heal and learn. The following summer I took on the Americorps VISTA position. My official title was "fresh food access coordinator". I only expected to focus on the garden but I discovered so many opportunities for improvement around food access in my community. I also saw opportunities to improve in areas outside of food access. One of my biggest triumphs was getting the fire chief to agree to meet with the community and hear our concerns about the bomb detonating facility in our neighborhood. (Still working on getting that moved.) Through these experiences, I developed an interest in sustainable development. I felt confident that I could contribute to change in low-income communities like mine with the proper education. This led me to where I am now. While in school I am still making as much time as I can for volunteering with the community by creating school projects around addressing their issues. I'm building my education so that I can be a more effective leader in my community.

I am asking for donations to attend BioGals in Belize: Sustainability Experience 2023. BioGals is an organization dedicated to empowering women of color and communities to participate in creating sustainable solutions based in Lexington, KY. The purpose of this trip is to study "the sustainability of water quality and waste management" in Belize. This will be a great opportunity to learn what better options are possible for water conservation through a service-learning project. I will acquire skills that I can bring back to the city. It is also a chance to meet and network with other women of color who are also sustainability-minded and want to improve their communities. I am going to school full-time and working part-time. I can't raise these funds on my own but I believe that this experience will greatly inform my leadership style and approach to sustainable development. Which will be beneficial to everyone I will serve in the future.

The $4,000 will cover:

The Flight to Belize, however, is not included.

Please consider donating!

BioGals Sustainability Experience 2023