Unhoused for Conservation in the Bay Area

Rishi Gurjar is organising this fundraiser on behalf of Beyond Terra.

Tax deductible

Every $16 contributed to this initiative will be an hour of employment for an unhoused citizen and an additional hour spent on restoring biodiversity in our urban environment.

All proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly towards the stipends for the unhoused volunteers as well as to fund future project costs. All donations are also 100% tax-deductible since we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

In recent years, biodiversity has been decreasing at a frightening rate, with several native species such as the Western Monarch Butterfly seeing a 99% decline in population. To add to the previous crisis, in the last couple of years, the unhoused population in Alameda County has increased by 43%.

To solve these problems simultaneously, Beyond Terra is partnering with the Houseless Environmental Volunteers Initiative to tackle both the unhoused issue and biodiversity loss in San Jose and Fremont. Specifically, this project offers financial aid and work experience to unhoused citizens that participate in our conservation efforts.

In the past two years, the Houseless Environmental Volunteers Initiative has already employed the unhoused for over 400 hours of environmental work and planted over 1000 trees in San Jose. They have the opportunity to gain valuable marketable skills and their supervisors have the ability to issue reference letters and referrals that can be used for future job opportunities. We hope that this employment will be a step in helping the unhoused get back on their feet. In addition, each employee earns a stipend for their hard-earned work helping the environment.

However, more and more unhoused volunteers are eager to sign up, so we don’t have enough funds to provide for them. Furthermore, we also have plans to expand this project beyond San Jose, which will require even more funds to do so. We are fundraising with an $8,000 goal to fund our project till the end of 2023 and support expansion into the rest of the SF Bay Area.

About the Fundraiser

Beyond Terra and HEVI (Houseless Environmental Volunteers Initiative) are tackling both the unhoused problem and biodiversity decline in SF Bay Area

Provide a stipend ($16/hour), valuable work experience, and reference letters to unhoused citizens that participate in our biodiversity conservation efforts
We have planted over 1,000 trees in San Jose, provided over 475 hours of employment, assisted 20 houseless individuals to find employment, provided over $6,000 in stipends
Every $16 donated = 1 hour employment for an unhoused citizen and an additional hour spent on restoring biodiversity.

Our Impact on the Unhoused Community

At this very moment, over 38 thousand individuals in the Bay Area are experiencing homelessness.
HEVI provides reliable and meaningful volunteer opportunities, with stipends, to houseless individuals in San Jose, while furthering environmental efforts and contributing to the urban forest.
Through working at HEVI, houseless individuals can obtain valuable marketable job skills as well as reference letters penned by Our City Forest (a San Jose-based NGO) staff to help them find future job employment

Our Environmental Conservation Efforts

The alarming decline in biodiversity and the increase in the unhoused population have become pressing global concerns
99% decline in Western Monarch Butterfly & other native species populations
Working with Our City Forest, we curate California native species to build and maintain high-impact biodiversity gardens

Youth Impact

Collaboration between high school and college students from all over the SF Bay Area (Student leaders are from Fremont, San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Milpitas)

By supporting this initiative, you will be both empowering unhoused individuals to regain stability and actively participating in the restoration of biodiversity.

All proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly towards the stipends for the unhoused volunteers as well as to fund future project costs. All donations are also 100% tax-deductible.

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