April shoppers bring May dollars for local nonprofit, The Sierra Fund

NEVADA CITY, Calif. April 3, 2019 – When visiting BriarPatch Food Co-op this month opt to round up your haul of Spring-time produce and organic goods to the nearest dollar in support of local non-profit, The Sierra Fund (TSF).

The Sierra Fund, based in Nevada City, has been selected by BriarPatch Food Co-op as their checkout donations recipient for the month of April. For nearly twenty years The Sierra Fund has worked in service of the Sierra Nevada unified by a mission to bring resources to restore resiliency in the region. “Our vision is of a Sierra Nevada with thriving landscapes that offer healthy places to live, work and play with clean water, soil and air,” said The Sierra Fund’s CEO, Elizabeth “Izzy” Martin.

Rounding up your purchase at BriarPatch will bolster The Sierra Fund’s work to build the capacity of at-risk populations to withstand the mounting impacts of climate change on the region, including increased fire risk. The Sierra Nevada is home to only 2% of California’s population, but these residents are among the state’s most at-risk for climate-induced impacts on health and socioeconomic well-being.

In 2018, wildfire emerged as the topic of greatest concern among community members who participated in The Sierra Fund’s Environmental Health Survey exploring the unique exposures that impact Gold Country residents. Wildfire is imminent, yet disadvantaged community members including those who are low-income, geographically, culturally, or socially isolated, or non-English speaking may not have the tools to prevent the deleterious impacts of wildfire.

“By ensuring that vulnerable populations are aware of and have equal access to resources to prevent loss of life and property, improve the fire resilience of forested properties, conduct emergency planning, and mitigate air quality impacts on health, TSF’s work promotes social and environmental justice in the Sierra Nevada,” says Alex Keeble-Toll, Program Manager of The Sierra Fund.

“We are grateful to BriarPatch for the opportunity to increase our community-based support through this program and will use these funds to invest back into the community by increasing access to potentially lifesaving information and resources through multiple avenues and in multiple languages,” said Martin.

To learn more about The Sierra Fund’s work or to get involved, visit their website at www.sierrafund.org.