December 2023 Newsletter

We celebrate the current year, while remaining steadfast for the future.

It is better to give than to receive

Your commitment to ReThink has already made a meaningful impact, and we invite you to be part of our year-end giving campaign. Together, we can continue making strides towards a brighter, cleaner, and more equitable future. Use this link to donate:

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2023 was a special year

Photo Credit: Bob O’Lary

Rethink Energy Florida had a landmark year in 2023. Our education, advocacy, internship, and volunteer programs all set new records and accomplished feats previously unseen. Take a look at all we accomplished.

Education

Our ongoing youth outreach program is actively working with two Title I schools in Leon County. This year, our Education Team has expanded Youth Outreach into one middle school for our Science Club. Energy Camp is always a great success, and 2023 was no exception. It’s a great way for kids in third through sixth grades to learn more about energy and our environment through fun, hands-on activities and field trips. As we move forward into 2024, we are exploring ways to further expand our programs, offer more opportunities in our target neighborhoods, and serve more students and children throughout Tallahassee.

Campaigns

Reclaiming Florida’s Future – We kicked off 2023 with our RFF lobby day event, engaging Floridians from all around the state in more than 60 legislative appointments and partnering with youth-focused and cultural organizations.

Reclaiming Florida’s Future Year Round – This year, we also laid the groundwork and set up infrastructure for this new program, which is intended to keep up civic engagement work outside of the annual legislative session, and incorporates delegation meetings, committee weeks, and in-district meetings.

SEED – This year the SEED team completed the federally contracted portion of the program, which included neighborhood outreach, surveys, and other community engagement and began moving forward with more responsibility for community engagement with Tallahassee’s Clean Energy Plan.

Tally100 – In August, we saw successful passage of the City of Tallahassee’s Clean Energy Plan, thanks in part to significant input from REF-led Tally 100 Coalition and personnel from our SEED Project team.

Climate Action Now Party – ReThink partnered with Climate Action Now (CAN) to host a CAN party via Zoom. Three hundred registrations brought more than 200 attendees together with a superstar panel to engage in a multi-target approach to bringing awareness to Gov. DeSantis’ veto of IRA funds.

Upper Limit: We made progress on establishing an upper limit to Sea Level Rise to keep Florida Above Water. The Upper Limit Project seeks to leverage the focus on Sea Level Rise in conservative communities such as Florida and engage in a more salient conversation about emissions reduction. We ask: How much Sea Level Rise is too much? In suggesting that we set an Upper Limit, for example of 2 feet in Florida, we can provide a rallying point that is easier to visualize than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Kicking off the public facing campaign at the end of 2022 with this keynote address from Rafe Pomerance, this year, we were able to: Place an article in the Foreign Affairs Magazine: The Case for Capping Sea-Level Rise: A More Tangible Way to Measure the Harm From Climate Change. Place an Op Ed by Susan Glickman in the Tampa Bay Times here. Give several talks to groups around the state. Host a statewide webinar for planners. Watch here. Place an Op Ed in the Invading Sea here. Draft a resolution for cities and counties to support an upper limit. To get involved in this campaign or host a speaker, please reply to this email.

Internships

2023 was the second year we were able to offer paid internships. This year we saw 16 interns from five different schools pass successfully through the program, gaining useful skills and knowledge about different environmental issues, as well as learning how to work with individuals from a wide range of ages and backgrounds. Interns worked in all of ReThink’s programs, including Education, Advocacy, and Communications. And most exciting of all, this year one of our recent interns returned to us as a member of our Board of Directors.

Volunteers

In 2023, we extended our outreach to the community throughout the year, organizing community cleanups at key locations such as Lake Henrietta and Lake Ella. The commitment and enthusiasm displayed by volunteers during these cleanups underscored the collective effort towards environmental stewardship. ReThink Energy Florida worked this year to engage volunteers in educational outreach. We successfully recruited volunteers to visit Leon County public K-12 schools, where they actively participated in after-school STEM-based activities designed to inspire and educate students. These initiatives fostered a love for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as demonstrated our commitment to investing in the intellectual growth of the next generation.

Development

The great work we do requires attention and resources. Our development team works hard to ensure the funds we need are available. This year we budgeted ambitiously to realistically illustrate what we need. Some of our successes included: Green Energy and Ham breakfast – The fundraising goal was $7,500, but actual revenue exceeded $9,000. Energy Ball – Despite schedule changes and logistical innovations, we had a fantastic Ball and almost doubled what was budgeted. Network, confidence, group work Individual and monthly donors Monthly Giving Emphasis! As we look to the new year, we strongly encourage recurring monthly donations for the current and future work of ReThink.

SET UP YOUR RECURRING DONATION NOW! It’s so easy and takes less than 60 seconds. Donate Or send a check to: PO Box 1341, Tallahassee, FL 32302

Reclaiming Florida’s Future approaching fast

Reclaiming Florida’s Future For All, ReThink’s annual advocacy event, is January 24, 2024, at Florida’s Capitol. Just two weeks into the legislative session, our advocates will speak with legislators about important energy and environmental issues. There will be an in-person training in Tallahassee at 5:30 p.m. on January 23, 2024, and an online training on Advocacy 101 and How To Talk About The Bills on January 16, 2024. Please register ASAP so we can get you on the list for information about the event!