Climate Change Toolkit 2010

Did you know that climate change doesn’t just affect our environment, but also millions of people around the world, especially those in developing countries?

Join Plan’s youth network, YUGA, in our Climate Change Campaign! The actions we take in our day-to-day lives impact the environment and we need to spread the word! Together we can stop climate change through simple efforts made every day.

We want YOU to get involved with YUGA in our efforts to stop climate change and make our world a better place! World leaders have made the promise of achieving the Millennium Development Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability by 2015. Let's make this happen!

How you can get involved

1. Educate
   • Know the facts!
     • Read up on some background information!
     • Watch a film on climate change
   • Run an interactive activity
   • Break it down . . . focus on one topic at a time! Check out our information and activities on:
     • Global warming
     • Natural disasters and the "What Would You Bring" activity
     • Water scarcity 
     • Electricity activity
   • Learn how to fix it!
     • Compost
     • Recycling
       • Basic Info
       • Do’s and Don’ts
       • Recycle Relay
   • Data, Stories and Facts
2. Advocate
   • Ask your government to support the Millennium Development Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability by 2015! Use our sample letter or use talking points to write your own. Make sure you fill in the date, and your legislator’s name.
   • For greener transportation…bike lanes, more bus routes, etc.
   • Contact companies that don’t have environmentally safe practices. Ask for change!
3. Raise Public Awareness
   • Encourage your school to recycle! Advocate for a comprehensive recycling program in your school district. Get the support of your peers, parents, teachers, coaches, and the administration! Explain the importance of going green, and ask everyone for help in achieving this goal.
   • Hold an Earth Day Event! Organize a neighborhood clean up, hold a fair and invite local agencies that support recycling to come!
   • Celebrate! Hold a Green Party! Host an event using only recycled materials. Have everyone bring their own utensils, Tupperware, etc. Use the celebration as an opportunity to talk about the environment and provide information about global warming, recycling, water use, or any other environmental issue. Have petitions available for participants to sign, asking governments and agencies to clean up the environment!
   • Create Awareness Posters! Using recycled materials, create posters with facts about the environment and tips about how to improve our world.
   • Host an Electricity Free Day/Night… Have a get together with your friends or classmates! Set up fun games, order pizza, and have the money raised go to a natural disaster relief fund!
   • Hold a Recycled Fashion Show! Hold a fashion show with recycled materials. Encourage participants to make creative entries using only recycled materials: old CDs, newspapers, buttons, bottle caps, old cloth, etc. Or hold a Thrift Shop Fashion Show! Use only previously used clothes and show that you can look good while saving the environment at the same time!
   • If you can, bike/ walk/rollerblade/skateboard to school or work!
   • Buy Fair Trade! Purchase products from companies that practice environmentally sustainable business methods!
   • Plant a tree! Deforestation contributes to global warming. Support the preservation of our world’s forests!
4. Fundraise
   • Hold a fundraiser at your school to support Plan’s Disaster Relief & Recovery Fund.
   • Need fundraising ideas? Check out our Fundraising A-Z page!
5. Join the YUGA cause!
   • Form your own YUGA group! Check out our website for ideas about starting a group and our other toolkits.
   • Link up with other YUGA members for ideas about campaigns.
   • Check out Youth United for Global Action and Awareness on Facebook!